Street roots., August 16, 2013, Page 9, Image 9

street roots
Aug. 16, 2013
cruise ships. The Port o f Seattle has worked
hard to get cruise ships to dock here. Do you
think the impacts are worth the benefits?
E.B.: You have to be very careful, but
Seattle has a strong environmental movement
that is monitoring cruise pollution, so I think
this is one of the cities where they’re trying
very hard to watch it. Cruising has become an
industrialized tourism sector, (but there are)
cruise lines that are still small and still pay
good wages and follow environmental rules.
Like Linblad. I think they’re registered here
(in Seattle). That’s the kind of tourism that
you want.
M.W.: You’ve lived in Seattle. What kind of
tourism would respect Seattle’s history and
culture?
E.B.: Well, Seattle has that Scandinavian
kind of personality. It’s a very friendly place.
People come to Seattle and don’t even think
about leaving the city. They get on the ferries
- the best ferry system in the country. And
you can walk and bike. It has culture, it has
nature and it also has consumer
opportunities. You can spend a lot of money if
you want to.
One thing you could add to Seattle would
be more in-depth, walking guide trips. (In the
book) I mentioned Context Travel (Context
Travel offers walking tours in a number of
world cities, including some in the U.S. for
about $20 to $30 per person per hour). They
hire locals, often with degrees in history. If
you get a good, educated, local guide, it
changes your visit to a city.
The Wall We Put Up
By Robert
When a person put all he or she has into
His feelings, words, actions, and still
Gets no reactions for what they have done
They will start to build walls around their hearts,
And souls.
That in time, even the builder can’t overcome.
And when that happens, it is the most feared
Insight a person must face.
When this happened to me,
I fought for many years to study every
Brick, crack, and even
The shape, size, depths of the wall I built.
To find, even when,
with the hardest tool,
I had, would not chip a block.
In the wall, there was the biggest opening,
Right before my eyes,
To walk and the path was always there.
And that was open to everything.
M.W.: I really appreciated your focus on
responsible tourism - but a lot o f your examples
were things that many people would consider
out o f their price range. What kinds of
responsible tourism could be developed for lower
middle-class and working-class people?
E.B.: The backpack world is alive and well.
There are great hostel systems; there are
countries where they make sure they have
enough hotel spaces for the lower-middle
classes as well as for the upper classes.
Europe is one place where, even if it looks
expensive, you can travel very well for less
money. My children grew up going to Europe,
from hostel to hostel, and there’s all kinds of
alternatives for Eurail passes and that sort of
thing.
The more local you are, the better. I always
use local transportation. In a lot of the United
States we don’t have very good local
transportation. You go overseas and you find
out how good it is. Buses are one of the best
ways to see a country. But I must caution: If
you don’t speak the language, and you’re
going local, you have to be careful that you
don’t do something stupid and get in trouble.
Go local, but use your brains. And really try
to learn a language.
If you could travel with a local, that’s one
of the things I recommend. If you could find
someone you know there, either through
work, through friends, through family, so that
you have a built-in guide you could trust.
M.W.: You talk about how big the tourism
industry is, but does it really increase the
general economy worldwide? Is the real effect
just that people are spending their money in
different places?
E.B.: People save their money to spend as
travelers and tourists that they would not
spend anywhere else. Would they be going to
restaurants five days a week if they were
home? Tourism very definitely changes the
basic economy, and it changes the jobs.
Reprinted from Real Change News, Seattle,
Wash.
By A vendor
All this fear
And to think there was a time when I was so at peace.
All this doubt
And to think there was a time when everything seemed
alright.
All this isolation
And to think there was a time when I was connected.
All the condemnation
And to think there was a time when I thought I was the
worlds’ greatest hero.
But I’m still alive
And I still believe things will get better.
Yes I still believe
I could end up feeling worse than anybody has ever felt.
I got to hand it to you God,
Oh what a hand, oh what a hand to have been dealt.
Oh what a poem, I could die and live on in infamy.
But I’d rather live
Because life has been kind of a nightmare for me.
I want a girl and I want a cause
But I want it all for free.
One hundred million percent for free.
But if you know a better way, God.
I have to do it and if I don’t will you do it for me?
As is best is how you know
These prayers usually end for me.
Visit hotels4change.org/streetroots to book your next stay!
M.W.: You mentioned Costa Rica and France
as areas that have been really mindful about
their tourist development. Are there any other
countries that you feel that way about?
E.B.: Germany has been head-and-
shoulders on this. A lot of the Nordic
countries are amazing. Japan is amazing.
Parts of Canada — I won’t say all of Canada,
but parts of Canada. I hear Chile s very good.
Nervous Day’s Muse
are you