Making tourism sustainable – there is no plan B
The World Travel Market (WTM) is being held in London this week, and yesterday I was able to attend as editor of Leisuretourism.com. Two issues appear to be centre-stage at this years event. One is the impact of the economic downturn on the travel industry. The other is the need for tourism to be sustainable…
Will Barack Obama’s victory bring about changes to the US environmental policy?
A change in leadership usually results in changes in policies or at least in some policies; it’s only natural as a new leader will surely aspire to improve on his/her predecessor’s achievements and try to succeed where he/she failed. According to an article in the Guardian, Obama is no different; his advisors told the Guardian…
Beekeepers March on Whitehall
<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> Wallingford is not only where our community of bloggers resides, but it is also home to Rowse Honey, the ‘UK’s…
Carbon-neutral online conference – Climate 2008 / Klima 2008
I have been participating on this since yesterday and thought it was worth a mention. Yesterday (3rd November 2008) the online climate conference CLIMATE 2008 / KLIMA 2008 opened its virtual doors. If you want to join the conference, go to www.climate2008.net – from now until 7 November 2008. Once you have registered (for free)…
Neglected diseases at the APHA conference
Professor Peter Hotez told some shocking truths in his talk about neglected tropical diseases at the APHA conference in San Diego this week. Some of these diseases are taking hold in the southern USA.
The next Green Revolution
A few months ago, in the ‘silly season’ of summer, we were fretting about the future of food – how we were ever going to produce enough to feed and fuel the world, whether we were all going to be subsisting on fermented barley sludge and have to give up milk. Since then, I’ve been…
Beetle threat to ‘leaf peeping’ tourism
Looking out of the office window at this time of year, I’m fortunate enough to be able to enjoy the sight of trees turning all possible shades of red and orange. In parts of the USA, autumn foliage is big business for tourism, with ‘leaf peepers’ descending on New England every autumn to see forests…
Are wild treeshrews alcoholics?
It’s normal enough to see drunk students hanging off of tree branches (isn’t it?), but what about small rat-like creatures? It turns out that wild mammals may also be behaviourally and physiologically challenged by alcohol in their food. Frank Wiens and colleagues recently discovered that pentailed treeshrews (Ptilocercus lowii) and 6 other mammalian pollinators of…
The First European Veterinary Week, 10-16 November 2008
European vets are gearing up for their first veterinary week, which will be held from 10-16 November in various locations across Europe. This is a joint initiative organised by the European Commission and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). The organising team is also supported by an advisory group of stakeholders (farmers’ organizations, industry…
A new deadly virus
As the world’s attention has been focussed on the global financial crisis, little notice has been taken of the emergence of a new deadly disease in southern Africa. In September a woman tourist guide living near Lusaka, Zambia was evacuated to South Africa in a critical state. Her symptoms included fever myalgia, vomiting, diarrhoea, followed…