A&K and Fairmont Earth Hour ideas will have tangible results

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Earth Hour is on Saturday, March 28 at 8:30 PM. The hospitality and travel industry seems to have embraced this commitment to environmentalism. There are plenty of noteworthy initiatives out there intended to show support for a planet that could probably use our help. Of course, some are more interesting than others. I’m pretty interested in what’s going on at Abercrombie & Kent and Fairmont.

Upscale travel firm A&K is taking action at each of its 62 offices around the world. Outdoor signs will be turned off, and only emergency lighting will be used indoors. This will save 620 light-hours of electricity. And, they’re going to shut off the air conditioning for 90 minutes before the end of the work day, lowering power consumption for this period by 18 percent.

The company is also turning its corporate social responsibility gaze outward. Sanctuary Camps & Lodges are going to host stargazing parties, thanks to the dark skies. They are also planning to turn off generators and cut power consumption by 50 percent for Earth Hour (at 13 properties in Africa).

A&K’s Sun Boat III and Sun Boat IV will turn off their generators, as well, operating only with emergency lighting. Guests will be able to enjoy the bright stars – because of the desert air – in Upper Egypt. Eclipse in the Galapagos will host a presentation on the Sun Deck and reduce the use of power by 30 percent.And, the company hopes that Earth Hour goodwill is contagious. Employees have pledged to save 2,960 light-hours, and A&K’s suppliers, including restaurants and hotels, have been encouraged to support Earth Hour, with hundreds agreeing to do so.

I’m also pretty impressed with what Fairmont is doing for Earth Hour (which you can track via Twitter). This company’s made it a habit to stay out in front of the market when it comes to corporate social responsibility, and it’s ready to play from Dallas to Dubai – at all 56 properties. In addition to its usual environmentally sound initiatives, some Fairmont properties are taking specific, unique action.

At the Fairmont St. Andrews, guests can choose at check-in the power they want to use: nuclear, solar or wind. They’ll also receive compact fluorescent light bulbs. But, this is just the beginning. If you decide to sweat it out in the gym’s spin class, the energy you create will be converted to kilowatt hours to show just how much power you produce. The class is sponsored to provide a cash donation to the World Wildlife Fund. Kids will be able to plant their own saplings. The initiatives at the St. Andrews property are designed to have lasting results.

In Alberta, the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise will light up its side of the lake with ice luminaries. Guests will be invited to gather around a fire and enjoy some old-fashioned storytelling under the stars. This hotel is committed to Earth Hour year-round, with 50 percent of its power coming from a mix of wind and run-of-river electricity generation.

Over in Kenya, at the Fairmont Mara Safari Club, the lantern-lit Boma will be a place for guests to gather and listen to a local naturalist discuss conservation and the environment – the “Maasai” way. It won’t be just lectures, though, as Maasai dancers will provide entertainment.

The Fairmont Zanzibar, Tanzania will celebrate Earth Hour for the entire day. Guests will be invited to sail on historical dhows on clear Indian Ocean waters. Chef Ric and his team will use charcoal grills to prepare seafood on the beach, delighting palates without disrupting the environment.

Are you doing anything for Earth Hour? Let me know at tom.johansmeyer [at] weblogsinc.com or http://twitter.com/tjohansmeyer.

Adventure and Luxury in Morocco

by Kraig Becker on

Mountain trekking has become a favorite vacation for adventure travelers, with some jetting off to South America to tackle the Andes, others hopping a plane to Europe for a tour of the Alps, while yet another group will head to Northern Africa to experience the Atlas Mountains. That’s exactly where travel writer Amanda Jones went when she wrote this piece for the LA TImes.

Jones discovered that the Atlases, which stretch for more than 1500 miles across Morocco, into Algeria, and continuing on to Tunisia, are separated into three distinct parts, beginning with the Middle Atlas that run along the north. The High Atlas are located in the central south, while the Anti-Atlas run into the foothills before tapering off into the Sahara Desert in the deep south.

An Atlas trek can be quite an adventure, with trails winding into some remote regions, including up Jebel Toubkal, the tallest mountain in North Africa at 13,671 feet. The scenery is stunning, and hikers frequently pass through Berber villages along their routes. Jones gives excellent details on her own trek, which was six days in length and consisted of 6-9 hours of trekking per day. Nights were spent in a variety of guest houses found in the different villages along the route.

To top off their Moroccon adventure, Amanda and her traveling companion treated themselves to a stay at the Kasbah Tamadot, a luxury resort owned by Richard Branson that includes a spa, two pools, restaurants, and 18 specially designed suites, along with six authenic Berber tents.

No one said you couldn’t spoil yourself a bit after the adventure is over.

Ten Must See Monuments

by Kraig Becker on

BootsnAll brings us another excellent list, with the intention of adding yet more destinations to our ever expanding “life lists”. This time it’s their selection of ten magnificent monuments, amazing structures from around the globe, that inspire us to travel thousands of miles just so we can take them in ourselves.

Some of the selections on the list are centuries old, such as the Nubian monuments found in southern Egypt or Stonehenge in England. Others are relatively recent in their construction, like the Washington Monument in D.C. or the Brandenburg Gate in Germany. These monuments were built for a variety of reasons, some religious in nature, like the Reclining Buddha in Thailand, others to commemorate a particular person or event, like the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico. Each of the places on the list include a photo and a nice description of why it deserves your consideration as a travel destination.

One thing that I like about this collection is that not everything on it is well known. For instance, the obvious choice for Egypt is the Great Pyramids or the Sphynx, but BootsnAll went with the temples located in Abu Simbal, far to the south, and far less visited by tourists.

For the traveler who has been everywhere and seen everything, perhaps this list will give you a few new ideas for future adventures. For those just setting out on their travels, this is a great list to start with.

Earth Hour on March 28

by Brenda Yun on

Get ready to celebrate Earth Hour 2009 next week on March 28. Wherever you are in the world, you are encouraged to participate in this effort to raise awareness of climate change by turning off your lights for an hour at 8:30 p.m. local time.

Earth Hour has been encouraged by the United Nations (as seen here in the video), and is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, an organization that continues to seek solutions to solve our planet’s critical environmental challenges. Looking over Abha’s report on the same event last year, Earth Hour has grown substantially in just a year. According to the Earth Hour website,”1,760 cities, towns and municipalities in 80 countries have already committed to VOTE EARTH for Earth Hour 2009, as part of the worlds first global election between Earth and global warming.”

I just heard the song “We are the World” on the radio, so I’m feeling pretty inspired, aren’t you?

World Water Day 2009: Events around the globe on March 22

by Brenda Yun on

How cool is this photo, entitled “water fireworks” by Gadling photo contributor jonrawlinson? If you look at the enlarged photo, the light creates star-shaped, firework-like reflections on the water. Beautiful.

World Water Day was conceived over ten years ago by a United Nations committee as an international day of observance for the critical role water plays in our lives. Whether we live in an urban or rural environment, we cannot live without and must find a way to both conserve and utilize it wisely.

From global events like the “Activism and Water Rights Webinar” to a World Water Day hike in Morro Bay, there are things happening all over the world to raise awareness of water conservation. Check out all of the events happening on or around March 22 HERE, or find your own way to consider how to celebrate, appreciate, and learn about water.

I recently helped a student write a poem about water conservation for a statewide poetry contest held by Hawaii’s Board of Water Supply. The theme this year: “Ola I Ka Wai” (Water Gives Life). It appears efforts are happening within schools all over the globe to educate kids on what can be done to save this precious resource.

If you think of a cool activity to celebrate this special day, you can publicize an event on the offical WWD website HERE.