Around the World Through the Lens of Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Aerial images from a masterful photographer and environmental crusader My friend Dick Needham sent me a link to “Earth from Above,” a collection of stunning images by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Do yourself a favor, click on the link and take a look. Arthus-Bertrand, whom I knew little about until I saw these images and read more about [...]
US Airlines Recycle Just 20% of Their Trash
Unhappy ending for the 880 tons of newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic cups and more annually generated by airlines When flight attendants roam up and down the aisle with large trash bags to collect passengers’ discards, I’ve always wondered whether someone somewhere sorts it, or whether it just ends up in landfills. Responsible Shopper, a consumer watchdog website, [...]
New National Monument Designations on the Horizon — Maybe
Western towns will benefit if sites are federally protected An internal memo about more than a dozen natural areas considered for possible National Monument designation has surfaced. The areas that the Department of Interior is studying for management and protection by the National Park Service or other federal agency reported are: San Rafael Swell, UT Montana’s Northern [...]
Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s First Flight — At Last
Long-delayed maiden voyage of Boeing’s newest plane aircraft The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a mid-size aircraft (290 to 330 passengers), is the first large commercial jet made of light-weight, high-strength composite materials for fuel efficiency, reduced emissions and reduced noise. It was rolled out in July 2007, with an original plan for the first flight to [...]
Travel Industry to Tackle Climate Change
“Live the Deal” initiative emerges from Copenhagen conference The United Nations Climate Change Conference that wraps up tomorrow in Copenhagen has been in the news mainly for the estimated number of demonstrators, the number of demonstrators arrested and the heads of government who would or wouldn’t be attending, and if the were, when, and if they weren’t, why [...]
San Miguel de Allende’sBotanical Garden
Charco del Ingenio showcases Western Hemisphere cacti in a protected landscape The roughly 154 acres occupied by the unique botanical garden called Charco del Ingenio outside of San Miguel de Allende is reportedly second most important collection of cacti in Mexico, after Mexico City. That would rank Cacti Mundi that my husband and I visited [...]
Carbon Offset Kiosk Coming to an Airport Near You
San Francisco International to install nation’s first dispenser of carbon offset credits Come spring, eco-conscious travelers flyhing out of San Francisco International Airport will be able to buy certified carbon offsets at self-service kiosks in a one-year pilot program (yes, that’s an intentional pun) set up by 3Degrees, a local company that deals in renewable-energy [...]
29 Lights is 28 Too Many
Hotels’ excessive lighting isn’t luxury — it’s wasteful I am currently in a lovely small suite at the Inn at Lost Creek in Telluride’s Mountain Village. Getting here (where it hasn’t been snowing) from the Front Range (where it snowed a storm) was an odyssey that I might blog about some other time. Unfortunately, despite [...]
Machu Picchu Under Tourist Seige
UNESCO warns that too many tourists now threaten Peru’s top tourist attraction I have not yet been to Machu Picchu, the Inca citadel high in the Peruvian Andes, but it is certainly on my go-to list. Maybe I had better move it up. According to an Associated Press report, “conservationists advising UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee [...]
Airline Woes Could Cripple US Economy, Study Shows
Bad news and dire predictions continue for air travel “Oil-fueled catastrophe in the airline industry would cripple US economy and eliminate US jobs, study reveals” is a ponderous title for an Internet post, but it is the gist of a feature on a travel site called eTurbo News. It cited a Business Travel Coalition study [...]
