travel

Or, how to stick a lot of information in a very short post

Following up on this airline news, Planet Ark reports:

The European Union's executive arm approved plans on Wednesday to include aviation in its emissions trading system, giving international flights in and out of the EU a one-year reprieve before they have to join.

Intra-EU flights will join the scheme, aimed at cutting global air pollution, in 2011. Flights into and out of the bloc will be included the following year, giving non-EU carriers time to prepare and see how the scheme works.

More articles here and here and here. Airlines' "cautious welcome" here. Greens' skeptical reactions here and here and here.

A little holiday guilt for ya

Just in time for your holiday flight back to whence you came, a little news about the environmental effects of your holiday airline travel that will make you feel almost as guilty as your relatives will. Much like your family tree (OK, maybe just mine), your trip will inevitably generate trash.

Being exploited? Exploit them back.

Tomorrow, Alaska's primary election will include an important ballot measure that imposes new regulations and taxes on the cruise ship industry. For environmental protection, it includes beefed-up regulations that will hold cruise corporations more accountable to Alaska's strict pollution controls, as well as allowing civil action suits against violators.

For economic growth, it proposes a head tax on all cruise passengers coming into the state, the revenue of which will be used for services and infrastructure related to the cruise industry. Further, it will tax income from onboard gambling and force companies to pay corporate income tax. And it will require onboard tour sellers to disclose how much they mark up tours from the price offered directly from the tour operators on shore.

The Anchorage Daily News has a good piece about it here. Full text of the measure here (it's not that long). More below the fold.

Move Thyself: Post script: The thievery capitulation

As if this guy didn't already have enough interesting stories about decades spent cycling essentially nonstop around the world, here's one more:

Get smart

This is a bit far afield, perhaps, but the British press is reporting that new drivers in the UK will soon have to take an "eco-driving" test in order to get their license. The UK initiative is modelled after a Dutch program that claims that smarter driving habits -- slower acceleration, less braking, lower top speeds -- can shave gas consumption by a third or more.

Last year, after a brief (and undeserved) flap over they Toyota Prius's worse-than-advertised mileage, ardent hybrid enthusiasts began circulating advice about how to maximize the vehicles' efficiency. So it's good to see some effort to do the same thing for the 99+ percent of cars on the road that aren't hybrids.

How Wendy Brawer put green on the map

Don’t let Wendy Brawer’s urban address fool you — this New Yorker has a soft spot for nature. After all, she’s the founder of Modern World Design, an eco-design firm, and has spent the last 11 years at the helm of the Green Map System, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping citizens all over the […]

Rage against the (hybrid) machine

Some California drivers are getting all steamed up that they have to share the carpool lanes with single-occupant hybrids, like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic, under a new state program. Some of the complaints, of course, should be taken with a grain of salt. Said one fumer in an online discussion group: "These [drivers] barely go 65 mph and allow no one to pass them on the right... Talk about road rage!" Uh, dude, that's not road rage -- that's whining.

Charles Munn, a pioneer of South American ecotourism, answers questions

Charles Munn. What work do you do? I am chair of the board of Tropical Nature, a nonprofit conservation group specializing in conservation through ecotourism. What does your organization do? We run the world’s largest network of eco-lodges in tropical rainforest — in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil. We also consult for rainforest and tropical […]

Umbra on alternatives to flying

Dear Umbra, I just read about Brits swearing off flying and feel such a sense of elation that I’m not the only one! Difference is, I’m in the U.S. I can’t take the train to Thailand. Any ideas on transoceanic travel? What will it take to get from Boston to Europe by boat? Anna Churchill […]