United Nations Mandates “Sustainable Tourism”


Venice, Dodge’s Palace Photo: Ileana Johnson 2016
During my twenty-two visits to Venice, I saw and heard the frustration and disdain locals have for tourists. We were not just an imposition in their daily lives, crowding their beloved city, their favorite restaurants, water buses, museums, operas, blocking their narrow alleys, their canals, and often entrances to their apartments. We caused wakes with our huge cruise ships and further destruction to their already fragile buildings, infrastructure, and eco-system. Continue reading

Pope Francis’ Encyclical on Climate Change

MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA Assisi Fountain
(Photo: Ileana Johnson 2008)
Extremely curious at the media allegation that the “scientific Pantheist who advises Pope Francis” and has swayed “Laudato Si” (named so after St. Francis of Assisi’s canticle), “seems to believe in Gaia, but not in God,” I set out to read for myself the climate change encyclical in Italian. Continue reading

“Global Wind Scam Day”

Danish mink farm Danish mink farm (Photo: WCN)
Touting the power of wind and “the possibilities to reshape our energy systems, decarbonize our economies and boost job growth,” the Global Wind Day is coordinated worldwide by the European Wind Energy Association, the Global Wind Energy Council, and various national associations. Continue reading