Celebrate Green Blog

by Lynn and Corey

JJ Yosh seems to live a life many would envy. He travels around the world tracking down the truth behind our lost past. Self-proclaimed adventurer, TV personality and eco-visionary, this young man is hoping to help create a more sustainable world through entertainment and television.

From an early age, J was inspired by the mysteries surrounding ancient civilizations and the natural world. He’s now seeking answers and solutions to better humanity’s future, as he travels the world with a team of scientists in search of ancient green technologies that could be the keys to sustainable living in the future.

Learn more about JJ on his website and view the trailer for his TV show.

1. Being out in nature obviously has always been important to you. But so many kids today think life begins and ends inside. How can parents encourage their kids to explore as you are doing?

Nature hikes are a great and fun outing for anyone at any age. I remember as a younger kid I would go to my nearby creek to find frogs and build dams. It was fun and it kept me wanting to keep going back. Eventually, I realized the aspect of these hikes that was really hooking me wasn’t the frogs or dams, but it was the amazing feeling of being outdoors in nature. That’s why I always say, you got to get outdoors and experience it, to really appreciate it.

2. Travel has been indicted as one of the most environmentally challenging issues we face. What do you do to lessen the environmental impact of your traveling?

One thing I do to save on traveling is grouping my errands.

When I go on trips that require an hour or longer, I try to carpool. This saves on gas and when I don’t drive, wear and tear on my car.

I try to limit my flying by driving (and carpooling when possible), instead. For example for Christmas I went on Craigslist drive-share and found a carpool to join.

I recently organized a carpool via an online group called Meetup.com to go to the Ouray Ice Festival instead of flying.

Of course if your flying overseas it’s a different story, but for drives under 14 hours carpooling is ideal for me.

3. The notion is still around that being green is expensive. What do you do in terms of keeping to green when you’re traveling that doesn’t cost anything?

I love to camp, and I am assuming camping uses a lot less resources than staying in hotels. I also love to eat healthy, so I usually purchase healthy food in bulk at Trader Joe’s, so I don’t have to waste money buying junk food and gas station markets on the way. This saves greatly on packaging and supporting the healthy food brands versus the industrial, high preservative conventional junk food brands.

How do you readers keep the environment in mind when you’re traveling?

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.