Candice Gaukel Andrews

Are carbon-offset programs just a device to purchase your way out of eco-guilt for your journeys? Are you doing your special, natural, and wild "secret places" a favor by keeping them secret? Is it okay to pick up a stone, a shell, or a piece of driftwood as a take-home memento; or by doing so do you set in motion a chain reaction that will forever change that spot on Earth?

Join the conversation at my eco-ethics blog on Gaiam's Web site. I'd like to hear what you think. See you there!

Why do you travel? How do you select which part of the world you need to travel to? When did you know you had to go "there"?

In this column for Natural Habitat Adventures, the conservation travel provider for the World Wildlife Fund, you'll read stories about how travel has guided us all to finding our own, true places in nature and how transformative discovering our real "natural habitats" can be. Click here to start your journey.

What does the word "adventure" mean to you? How do you define it: by traveling to exotic places, or just by trying something new? How is adventure "sold" to you, and what is its true composition? Explore your adventurous side in this column for Explorers' Corner.

Madison is a great place to enjoy nature. Nestled amid four lakes born of a glacier, the city embraces several parks, conservatories, gardens, lakeshore coves, and woods. And within a short driving distance, there are hundreds of other locations that invite an exploration into their nature. In my column for Examiner.com, I'll take you through not only Wisconsin's renowned natural places, well-known tours, and contentious conservation issues, but to the hidden corners throughout the Upper Midwest and Canada that you rarely hear about, for your own journeys into the natural world. Click here to get started.