Ecotourism in California, Sixt, 27 Dec. 2022, https://www.sixt.com/magazine/travel/ecotourism-california/. 

The article highlights the ecotourism options in California, which is known for its environmental consciousness. The state is home to 8 national parks and a coastline of 800 miles, making it a popular destination for outdoor activities. Yosemite National Park is a must-visit, offering an abundance of plant and animal life, as well as opportunities for hiking, biking, rafting, and winter sports. California’s farm-to-table dining and organic food culture also adds to the eco-friendly experience. Wine regions such as Napa Valley and Sonoma County offer wine tours that feature organic and biodynamic wine production. The Pacific Coast Highway offers scenic drives and eco-friendly options such as hybrid car rentals or train travel. Los Angeles, once known for its pollution, has become a hub for eco-friendly activities like hiking in Griffith Park or walking in popular neighborhoods. The locals participate in eco-conscious behavior and visitors are encouraged to do the same.

This article shows that California has been known to be environmentally conscious for a while. There are many eco-friendly activities available, as well as eco-friendly food and restaurants. Overall California is very eco-conscious and visitors to California are encouraged to respect the environment and protect it in the future.

Preserving California’s Abundance through Responsible Travel, Travel Matters, 25 Jan. 2023, https://travelmattersca.com/issues-insights/sustainable-responsible-tourism. 

California’s travel and tourism industry has experienced immense growth. California’s travelers are becoming more concerned about the impact they have on their destinations. California’s visitors are 11% more likely to worry about their impact than visitors to other destinations, and 93% believe that travelers should leave their environment the same or better than they found it. The World Travel & Tourism Council has identified five areas that underlie sustainable growth for the industry including climate change, destination stewardship, future of work, illegal trade in wildlife, and sustainability reporting. To encourage responsible travel, the Monterey County Convention & Visitors Bureau created the Sustainable Moments program, an initiative to educate visitors on responsible travel, which involves members of the industry and the wider community.

This article is important as it shows that the tourism industry in California has experienced recent growth. People in California have become much more aware of the effect on their environment. In recent years many more people have been participating in more eco-friendly travel activities. There has been a lot of growth and people have become much more involved in the process of making travel sustainable.

“Visit California Launches Initiative to Promote Smart, Sustainable Tourism.” SierraSun.com, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.sierrasun.com/news/visit-california-launches-initiative-to-promote-smart-sustainable-tourism/. 

Global consulting firm JLL is working to create regional strategic plans to guide the state’s tourism industry. JLL plans to create plans specific to each of California’s 12 tourism regions. These plans will examine tourism issues, including environmental challenges, workforce development, and infrastructure needs. Tourism businesses and California’s 300-plus destination management organizations will use the findings to build a more sustainable future for the tourism industry. JLL plans to form responsible travel principles, address climate impacts from tourism, and build alliances. 

This article is very prominent as it is one of the few plans that have been made toward improving tourism and making it sustainable. JLL is working to protect the environment and encourage destination tourism development that maximizes diversity. JLL will hopefully Establish  a better image for tourism, while mitigating negative impacts of tourism. If JLL keeps to their plan it will  be very beneficial to the tourism industry and will have very positive effects on the environment. 

“Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism in California.” Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism in California , Frommer’s, 5 Nov. 2022, https://www.frommers.com/destinations/california/planning-a-trip/sustainable-travel–ecotourism. 

The article highlights ways for people who are visiting California to be environmentally friendly. It suggests alternatives to driving such as taking a train, hiking, biking, or horseback riding trips, and taking a bus to Yosemite National Park. The article also mentions restaurants in San Francisco that use only organic food and the Orchard Garden Hotel which is the only hotel in the state that meets the standards for green buildings. They provide tips for eco-friendly accommodations and travel.

This article spreads awareness of the effects tourism has on the environment and highlights the importance of switching to more environmentally friendly methods of travel. The article suggests many alternate transportation methods and restaurants for travelers. Overall this article relates to environmental science because it shows people the importance of traveling eco-friendly. 

Ecotourism California: Sustainable Travel Guide, Green Geeks , 27 Jan. 2023, https://www.unsustainablemagazine.com/ecotourism-california-travel/. 

The article provides tips for eco-conscious travelers who are visiting  California. It highlights the importance of sustainable tourism. In addition, it provides some of the state’s best eco-friendly travel destinations. These destinations include regenerative farms and ranches, the Channel Islands, national parks, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The article also offers tips for sustainable and eco-conscious travel. The aim of the article is to help travelers make more sustainable travel choices while visiting California.

This article successfully explains what ecotourism is, especially delving into sustainability within tourism. This article also suggests travel destinations for those who are trying to be conscious of the environment. This article targets travelers and shows them that being conscious of their effect on the environment is important. It relates to environmental science as people are trying to promote ecotourism as a way to prevent further damage to the environment. 

Gerald Flynn & Andy Ball. “Can Ecotourism Save Cambodia’s ‘Ghost Parks’?” Mongabay Environmental News, 8 Feb. 2022, https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/can-ecotourism-save-cambodias-ghost-parks/.

In 2021 Cambodia signed into law of Sub-decree No. 30, which removed official protection from 127,000 hectares of land. This land formerly housed national parks and reserves. The article explains that this is similar to what is happening to many other protected forests and is what is leading to the degradation of many forests around the world. In addition, the article says that for many places ecotourism is a very useful tool, but in their case profits are far too low, and Cambodia’s natural and political conditions will cause it to fail, therefore they have a very little chance of saving ‘Ghost Parks.’

In this article, we are shown a very common problem when it comes to protecting our environment, which is that many are failing to protect important areas of our world. It explains an instance where ecotourism could be a possible solution, but with its given circumstances will not succeed in helping to save the environment. The article relates back to environmental science because one of our major problems is trying to conserve the world’s undamaged rainforests/land and not exploit their resources, if we are unable to do this eventually our whole planet will be industrialized.

Jane Marsh. “The Impact of Ecotourism on Sustainable Initiatives.” NationofChange, 24 Feb. 2022, https://www.nationofchange.org/2022/02/24/the-impact-of-ecotourism-on-sustainable-initiatives/. 

This article expresses that although ecotourism’s main goal is to preserve the environment, often it may do more harm than good. Recently, there has been a large growth in the popularity of ecotourism. Each of the many types of ecotourism are working toward sustainable living by informing ecotourists of the issues in the environment. As ecotourism grows it becomes more and more likely that control over industry will fall out, which will eventually lead to greedy businesses ruining the environment.

This article relates back to environmental science because sustainability is very important in order to keep our planet alive and able to hold future generations. Ecotourism is something that we should not glorify, it comes with many flaws and can harm our planets sustainability. If businesses gain more power than they already have, our environment will suffer. In my opinion this article does a very good job of clearly explaining how ecotourism can and will hurt our environment, while discouraging people from taking part in it. 

“In Metropolis of 5 Million, Rainforest Is a Lifeline and a Junkyard.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 July 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/world/africa/ivory-coast-abidjan-banco-park.html. 

Banco National Park is one of the world’s last primary rainforests still alive in a major metropolis. The Ivorian authorities are trying to revitalize and reforest what remains of their land. Many African cities are facing high levels of air pollution and are under very unsafe living conditions, therefore the people living in Abidjan do not have a good living  alternative. The informal workers operating in Abidjan said they recognized that the forest needed to be revitalized but they felt very excluded by the government’s approach.

I believe this article does a very good job of explaining one of the biggest problems with ecotourism. The Ivorians had previously veered away from the idea of hiking expeditions as a part of their ecotourism plan. The government’s efforts to promote ecotourism may have consequences for the locals. As explained in the article, ecotourism often causes locals or even native tribes to be kicked out of their homes and forced to live somewhere else. In this specific case, there is no safe living space anywhere nearby so the people who were forced to leave their homes risk living in an environment with polluted air and land. It comes down to whether you believe ecotourism is worth taking the homes of those there before you, knowing that in many cases ecotourism fails and we are left with an area that has been requisitioned to build something like a bus station, that negatively impacts the environment.

“Ecotourism Is Having a Negative Effect on Primate’s Behavior.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 25 Apr. 2022, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220425104845.htm. 

In a study led by the University of Portsmouth, it was found that ecotourism is having a negative impact on the behavior of monkeys. Specifically, in the riparian area, where primate ecotourism is very high the monkeys have been obtaining stress-related behaviors. These behaviors include scratching, an increased vigilant state, increased levels of aggression, and reduced feeding. The findings are similar to the findings in studies on sea mammals and birds, meaning signs of stress are often seen in all animals that are approached by people/boats. 

This article reveals that ecotourism negatively impacts our environment and the many animals that live in it. It goes to show that ecotourism needs to be regulated, especially in areas where ecotourism has gotten out of hand. I believe this article does a very good job of explaining how ecotourism, even if many think its intentions are good, often can harm our animals and can cause environmental destruction. In addition, I think this article is very clear about explaining ecotourism’s negative effects and could succeed in spreading awareness to those who have not spent the time to research ecotourism.

Micucci, By: Madison. “What Is Ecotourism? (2022 Ultimate Guide).” Hidden Lemur, 11 Jan. 2022, https://hiddenlemur.com/what-is-ecotourism-2021-ultimate-guide/. 

This article explains that ecotourism is a form of tourism that works to preserve our ecosystems and our environment. There are many benefits to ecotourism, for instance, it allows people to become more environmentally aware and it does not produce excessive amounts of waste. Ecotourism can sometimes get out of hand when businesses/organizations try to convince people that ecologically damaging activities are beneficial and helpful to our habitats. Ecotourism also benefits local people and can have a positive impact on their culture. 

I am of the opinion that this article provides a very good insight into what ecotourism is. It even explains why ecotourism can heavily benefit our environment, versus the ways in which it can lead to significant damage. I also like how this article goes into detail about explaining how to become an ecotourist and how to identify real ecotourism. The article explains that ecotourism usually requires a long-term commitment, as well as Visitor management that does not exceed the carrying capacity of the site. This is related to environmental science because ecotourism can lead to environmental awareness and directly benefit our environment and reduce our ecological footprints.