Coal-loaded ship runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef...

If the rapid development of coal-fired power plants in China wasn't enough to piss off the environmental community, the crashing of a Chinese coal-carrier on the Great Barrier Reef certainly won't help.

The ship ran aground late last night and is carrying 72,000 tons of coal, as well as 1000 tons of oil. Some of the oil has started to leak and local officials are very worried that the ship is on the verge of breaking apart. A break could spell significant environmental disaster on one of the world's most fragile ecosystems.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in serious danger from climate change, as rising ocean temperatures tend to cause significant coral bleaching, which, if occurring annually, could very well kill the Reef.

For more information on the story, go here.

This has not been a good week for China's coal industry. In addition to the Reef incident and the constant criticism of its coal plants by environmentalists, 153 miners have been trapped inside a coal mine in China for nearly a week.

Despite all the wonderful economic and energy benefits of coal, there sure are many downsides. Hopefully these downsides start to be taken more seriously before it's too late.

Photo: Guardian Newspaper

Pedalling a boat to Hawaii...

There are several brave souls who manage to cycle from coast to coast across North America. But once you hit the ocean, there is nowhere to go. That is, unless you build a boat to pedal across the Pacific on.

That is exactly what Greg Kolodziejzyk has done. And he plans to take it all the way to Hawaii under his own power in what he calls the Pedal the Ocean Project. Greg, who already has two human-powered travel world records under his belt, has built an ocean going vessel complete with a sleeping cabin, cockpit and storage cabin. He plans to leave in June from Tofino, B.C. and expects the trip to take anywhere from 40 to 90 days.

Greg is a retired entrepreneur -- retiring in his mid-30s -- and spends much of his time training for extreme endurance events like marathons, triathlons and bike-across-ocean-ons. He is also a motivational speaker. Since his retirement, he has put a significant focus on human powered-travel and its benefits in battling childhood obesity. Indeed, the trip is trying to fundraise 3000 bicycles for kids as a means to help them combat obesity and increase their overall health.

While not saying it directly, Greg is also inspiring environmental action and awareness. Human-powered travel is both good for the health of the pilot, but also healthy for the environment. As health care and the environment become increasingly important issues to deal with, it would be nice to see some collaboration, especially since they can help each other out.

Good luck, Greg! (And thanks to K.O. for telling me about this).

A greener and cheaper alternative to wakeboarding...

I've spent much of my life going to the cottage and spending time around boats. One of my favourite things to do is go wakeboarding. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it is basically a combination of waterskiing and snowboarding, where you get pulled behind a boat and ride a large board that you can use to jump off the boat's wake and do all sorts of tricks. Some footage can be found here. I am by no means anywhere near the calibre of the guys in the video, but I bet Tim could do all that and more...

Wakeboarding, unfortunately, has an environmental impact. Like many watersports, wakeboarders need a boat to pull them. And often, the bigger the boat, the bigger the wake, and the better the wakeboarding. But, the bigger the boat, the more fuel consumed and usually, the louder the engine. And boats are notorious for their impact on bodies of water, from oil and gas emissions into the water and also into the air.

I recently stumbled upon something very comparable that could serve just as exciting, but without the boat. It is called kiteboarding. You use a similar board, but instead of being pulled behind the boat, you attach yourself to a large kite that you use to pull you across the water. You can also use it to seemingly float in mid air after hitting waves, allowing you to pull off just as many, if not more tricks you could perform wakeboarding. While I have never tried it, the videos I have seen lead me to believe that it offers one a freedom similar to that found in cycling.

There are dangers, of course, the biggest being the wind sweeping you up and throwing you into hazards like rocks or other kiteboarders. But with practice and quickly developing safety technology, many of these dangers can be avoided. Finding places with major wind resources can be a challenge, but in most major lakes and oceanic coasts, winds can get high enough. Throughout the Great Lakes, for instance, there is a multitude of appropriate locations to go kiteboarding.

I'm certainly looking into kiteboarding as something I could do, especially since I have little access to a boat. I certainly can't afford one. But kiteboarding is a little more financially accessible. If you're into this kind of stuff, I suggest taking a look. Here's one of hundreds of videos online.  

Now I am certainly not denouncing wakeboarding or jumping on the proverbial environmental high horse. If someone offered me the chance to go wakeboarding behind a 28 foot ski boat, I would jump at the opportunity. But there would be some guilt attached to it. Several watersports are dependent on boats or other vehicles. Finding ways to get the same excitement without as much environmental impact and as  much as a hit to the wallet can be pretty rewarding.