The New Hawaiian Park You Proly Won’t Ever See

by Erik Olsen on

We celebrated the Bush Administration’s recent effort to make a fine addition to the nation’s national natural heritage. They created the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument...which I’ve since learned is likely to be called something else entirely…and that’s a good thing. But as I mentioned in the piece, one of the things about this new area that seems to escape the notice of those who celebrate the addition is that most of us will never even come close to this place.  As this piece makes clear, unlike Mount Rushmore or the Statue of Liberty, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands “will never be a place visitors can see by just packing the kids into the car for a week”. It seems even the Hawaiians themselves are unclear how much access they will have.

The main reason is that the islands are so remote, and spread out…across 1,400 miles of the Pacific to be exact. In fact, there have been no public flights at the region’s sole airport, on Midway Atoll, since 2002. I wonder if that will change. It’s an odd concept, having this place preserved ,which is something everyone can agree on, and yet having it be so unreachable. And on the one hand, it would be great to start up a tourism system to allow people to see it ,but on the other a shame that we would expose a place now celebrated for its natural pristine beauty to the ravages of tourism. What to do?

Rebuilding America’s Image

by Erik Olsen on

Unless you’ve been living in a cave (and if so, tell Osama I said hi…and then take him out) you’re probably aware that America’s image has taken some serious hits lately….well, in the last couple of years. Even today, there are protests against America in as nice a place as Austria. Well, one way to deal with this problem is for more of us Americans to head overseas and to be nice to people.

Lonely Planet is one company making this case. And good for them. But there is another group, who also has a vested interest in making sure that Americans, and American products, are not discriminated against. The group is called Business for Diplomatic Action, and is a nonpartisan collective of business leaders who are trying to spread the word. They published a World Citizens Guide for Americans which they hope folks will study before setting foot on foreign soil.

What kind of tips do they offer? Well, they suggest that we be on our best behavior while navigating unfamiliar cultures. Dress appropriately, don’t be so damn loud, don’t be offensive. All common sense stuff, but stuff that is worth bearing in mind as you head out.

World Refugee Day

by Adrienne Wilson on

Today is World Refugee Day and it wouldn’t feel right for me to blog without giving it a mention here on Gadling. June 20 was officially recognized as World Refugee Day back in 2000 when the United Nations General Assembly sought to celebrate the contribution of refugees worldwide. This year’s theme is “Hope,” where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) hopes to draw the public’s attention to the millions of refugees globally, forced to flee their homes.

There are two events scheduled this weekend worth checking out if in the Washington D.C. area if you’re around. The first is an afternoon of exhibits, dance and musical performances by refugee artists and youth at the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall on Saturday, June 24, 2006 from 12 pm to 4 pm. Additional details can be found by clicking here and personally if I were anywhere around this venue I would seriously make it top priority this weekend.

Can’t make it, but still interested in World Refugee Day? Head to Slate where you can find a collection of Magnum Photos showcasing refugees from all over. The shot above is from a refugee camp in Kurkushetra, India from 1947 taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Maine Lobster Fest Approacheth

by Erik Olsen on

Just a claw’s up:  The Maine Lobster Festival is coming once again to Rockland, Maine, and you need to be there. The festival turns the sleepy little town into a bacchanalia of crustacean cooking. This year’s Maine Lobster Fest takes place from August 2-6 and I can assure you that you will enjoy it.

There will be music, drinking, revelry and great gobs of steamy red lobsters waiting for you to dip their succulent flesh in butter and wash it all down with a local micro brew. Of course, the festival is not such a big hit with animal-rights activist, who got an unusual voice of support from the writer David Foster Wallace, whose treatise (pdf) on animal cruelty, will make you shift uncomfortably in your seat and perhaps never eat another live animal again…at least not one that screams when placed into a pot of boiling water.

National Park Woes

by Erik Olsen on

Keeping up on our posts about the National Parks and their current state, I’d like to direct your attention to a piece at the Washington Post about how difficult it may be to experience the parks this summer. Due to budget shortfalls and an (alleged) lack of commitment to keep the parks up to date, our parks system, says a group of retired park employees, will offer fewer park rangers available to respond to emergencies, fewer law enforcement officials patrolling, and fewer rangers giving interpretive walks and answering questions. The article examines a detailed study of 37 of the nation’s parks that was put out by a nonprofit coalition that “found almost without exception that parks are operating well below the established standards for service and for resource and visitor protection.” So take this into consideratin as you plan the week-long excursion to Yellowstone with the family.