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Posts Tagged ‘ecosystem’

Usually the time we get as leisure is spent on recreation. It has an important function in our lives. Amidst the stress and strain of modern life, recouping and energizing the body and mind is vital. There are many ways that this can be done. Some of them are bungee jumping, skiing, hang gliding, snowboarding, rock climbing, sky diving, backpacking, canyoning, motor sport, adventure tourism and ecotourism. Ecotourism is where one visits the natural habitats to enjoy nature. However, there are two kinds of ecotourism in vogue. The first is what has come to be called responsible ecotourism. This is when the visitor is sensitive and respectful to nature and feels socially responsible to protect it. The focus here is on learning from nature and reflecting on the adverse human impact on nature. Central to it is the profound appreciation of nature. The second category is where nature becomes incidental to profits. Primarily a commercial enterprise, nature becomes a commodity for business. Tragic enough, this type of ecotourism continues to dominate.

Ecotourism is promoted indiscriminately without concern either to ecology or local culture. Ecotourism is made a mere marketing tool. Resorts, lodges and luxury hotels are located in rich natural locations and often in ecologically sensitive areas. These facilities offer modern luxury with all the wasteful lifestyle. Ecology becomes a commodity to be exploited rather than respected and conserved. Building tourism infrastructure in the name of promoting ecotourism leads to deterioration of the habitat and deforestation. The more the facilities the more are the waste generated. A large number of visitors also mean more garbage and pollution. Many of these ecotourists have no understanding of the ecological consequences of their visits and how their lifestyles in these tourist facilities impact on nature.

Responsible ecotourism on the other hand is in stark contrast to this destructive ecotourism. Typically the visitors come unobtrusively in small groups. They invariably carry their survival needs in their backpacks. These include flashlight, first aid kit, personal care products, utensils and map amongst others. Sleeping bag and the camping tent are the most important for their minimal comforts. There are many camping tent manufacturers such as Black Diamond, Sierra, Kelty, Eureka and MSR who manufacture tents. Camping tents are designed for different seasons and capacity. The features that come along with it can be previewed from each of the reviews of these tents for instance searching the Internet for MSR Hubba Hubba reviews.

Camping is usually associated with responsible tourism because the negative aspects of tourism are minimal. There is much attention given to energy efficiency, recycling, water conservation and economic benefits to local communities.

Most of us don’t think about recycling much past when the driver picks it up or we drop it off at the local recycling center.  Of course, the process of making new material from used items is important, but in the course of everyday life it just doesn’t make it through all of the other concerns in the day.You could schedule a visit to the closest recycling plant and see the recycling process for paper looks like up close and personal.  Most companies are more than willing to share the process and information behind taking scrap paper and making it usable again.The best way to really show people that their efforts matter.  However, it’s a little faster to learn about the recycling paper process by reading about it.

Nothing can happen in the recycling paper process without one very important element.  People willing to take the time and save their paper products are vital to the success of any recycling effort.  The entire process starts with you, the consumer, in other words.Whether you drop your stuff off at the recycling bin or have it picked up, the process can’t start until you become a part of it.

Once the paper makes it to the center, the first step is pulping.  In the recycling process for paper, this means that water is added to large amounts of used paper and agitated to produce pulp.After the paper is sufficiently broken down, the pulp is pushed through a series of screens to separate the larger pieces of contaminants from the useable paper pulp.The somewhat clean paper is then placed in a machine that uses centrifugal cleaning to spin more of the debris from the paper pulp.

The next step in the recycling process for paper is to remove the ink.The water and paper pulp mixture is brought to a flotation treatment.Surfactant is added to the mix and it forces the ink to release from the paper causing it to float to the surface for easy removal.The pulp is now ready to be kneaded and broken into fibers further.  The final washing is done with clean water to get rid of any contaminants or particles that is still hanging on.If the paper is intended to be white, a bleaching process is started by the workers.

The recycling process for paper is then completed with presses to form the new, recycled paper into its proper shape and size.  As you know, recycled paper and paper products usually bear the famous recycling logo so you can pick products that were made with environmentally safe techniques.