Masdar, the world’s greenest city

by Iva Skoch on

If you had to take a guess where the greenest city in the world is going to be by 2009–and yes, I am talking green as in “zero carbon”, “zero waste”, “car free “city–where would you guess it would be?

I was completely off. I just didn’t think that a region rich in oil would be the first one to come out with a project of this scope.

The first city in the world based completely on renewable energy will be built in the United Arab Emirates. Electricity for the six-square-kilometer Masdar City will be generated by photovoltaic panels, while cooling will be provided with concentrated solar power. According to ENS newswire, design and operation of Masdar City must deal with the realities of Abu Dhabi’s sub-tropical, arid climate where temperatures range from a low of around 50° F to a high of around 118° F in the summer.

It is not the most beautiful skyline I have ever seen, but beauty might be an overrated concept in the 21st century.

World Heritage and the Gadling connection

by Jamie Rhein on

In November, Grant, Catherine and I had a grand time participating in a conference call with various folks interested in travel and preserving those things that make the world a wonderful place to be. Friends of World Heritage, an initiative in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, Expedia.com and World Heritage Center at UNESCO, orchestrated the call to promote a dialog among us and create a network that fosters public interest and involvement in the work of Friends of World Heritage. The aim of the organization is to ensure UNESCO’s World Heritage sites continue to gain public recognition and support as valuable places worthy of honor and preservation. TurtlefeetSurfersBeat, Intelligent Travel (blog for National Geographic Traveler) and National Parks Traveler joined in on the chat.

Catherine, Grant and I were happy to be included among the group of knowledgeable and engaged folks who are interested in the world and preserving its natural and cultural heritage. (All Gadling bloggers are included in those interested in the world. Catherine, Grant and I are the ones who were able to participate in the call.) Since World Heritage sites are among those places that ensure that our natural world and cultural history stay intact, this conversation was a perfect interaction of interests.

We’ve continued to stay engaged with Friends of World Heritage since then. Our hope is that we can further the cause of Friends of World Heritage by letting Gadling readers know about the latest happenings in the World Heritage arena and highlighting those must see places that are must see because of their distinctive characteristics.

One of the latest happenings in the World Heritage arena is that 14 places in the United States have been named as contenders for the distinction of becoming an official World Heritage site. These 14 are on the new “Tentative List.” We are using February as a month to highlight the bounty. In the month of love, these are places to love.

Naming the sites on this “Tentative List” is the end of the beginning of the process. These 14 sites, the first to be considered in the U.S. in 12 years, have been picked by the Department of the Interior (in conjunction with the National Park Service) for consideration. The places on the Tentative List won’t be able to be considered as official World Heritage Sites until 2009. The rules state that a place has to be on a list for a year. A site can be on a list for a long, long time as there is a lot of competition. This is my understanding from the press release we received from the U.S. Department of Interior via Friends of World Heritage.

Stay tuned for a post on the “Tentative List” this afternoon and Gadling’s coverage of the 14 sites throughout this month. You can help us decide who we think should win an official spot as a World Heritage Site. The photo is of the map of World Heritage sites. We’ll let you in on how to get one of those too.

A new brunt for eco-tourism: human viruses are killing apes

by Abha Malpani on

Humans and monkeys always seem to have had a love-hate relationship. On one side, eco-tourists spend fortunes to see and interact with great apes in their natural environment; on the other side, both monkeys and humans are responsible for giving each other deadly viruses. For example, monkeys gave the human race the fatal AIDS, and now scientists have found some of the most common human respiratory viruses are killing endangered apes. Is this nature’s demonstration of karma? Is there a solution?

Further to this discovery, eco-tourists visiting natural reserves to see apes will be obligated to show proof of vaccination, wear masks and disinfect all clothes and boots before setting foot in ape territory. It is also being recommended to keep a 7-10 meter distance from the apes, which kind of screws up any ape-tourist’s long held desire to take a photograph with the primates.

Eco-tourism has many advantages: the tourist dollar is essential and it helps maintain and protect animals and their environments in their natural surroundings. But, when the disadvantages include direct death of the animals, which may ultimately play a notable role in elimination of the entire species from planet earth, should it be permitted at all?

The most remote (and beautiful) corner of Costa Rica

by Iva Skoch on

If you want to experience Costa Rica for its natural parks and avoid beautiful-but-touristy places (such as Quepos) head over to Osa Peninsula, home of Corcovado National Park, which is the largest park in the country (and much of Central America). I was just there in November and would recommend it to anybody who is looking for adventure travel. November is a good time to go, too, because it is the end of their rainy season but not quite their high season yet. You will end up doing a lot of trekking–both in jungle and on the beach–so plan accordingly and bring a lot of sunscreen.

We took a local flight on Sansa from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez and rented a 4X4 car from there. You can also take a “colectivo” shuttle bus (cheaply) or a taxi (expensively). It is about a three hour drive to Carate. This is where “the road ended” and we hiked 3 miles on the beach to the eco lodge. The beaches are amazing and so are most of the eco lodges. Still, the key here is modest: tents, simple meals and lots of scenery. Anyone looking to get “eco-pampered” with a massage in the sunset should probably go to Quepos instead.

Costa Rica is a beautiful country that has so much to offer to different types of travelers. Don’t get discouraged just because your neighbor told you it is getting touristy. There are still real gems to find in Costa Rica.

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Also: Check out the story + gallery (below) of Gadling blogger Jerry Guo catching bats in Costa Rica.

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A behind-the-scenes tour of Wolong Panda Reserve

by Jerry Guo on

Awwww. Who doesn’t love pandas? Especially 20 adorable baby pandas playing in a “panda kindergarten.” Below is a gallery of exclusive photos from my reporting trip to Wolong Panda Reserve, the world’s most famous captive breeding center for these highly endangered animals.

Unfortunately, my big story for Science Magazine is behind a subscription wall, but you can check out a short story about my visit to Wolong here, for another magazine, The Scientist. There’s a fun little slide-show with even more pictures from that trip here.

I highly recommend visiting Wolong, particularly because they have a couple hundred pandas at the breeding center. It’s also set against an absolutely gorgeous backdrop. Oh, and if you have $100 to drop, you’ll even be able to hold your very own panda!

If you want to donate to help save these amazing animals, the two organizations that are doing incredible work (trust me, I interviewed them extensively) are WWF and Conservation International.

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