Devon England’s Crealy Great Adventure Park has unveiled plans to be the United Kingdom’s first solar powered theme park. The plans involve the installation of 200,000 square feet of solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of the park’s main buildings. In addition, panels will cover carports providing the dual purpose of sheltering guests’ cars while generating electricity.
The energy generated by the solar panels is expected to meet around 90% of the park’s needs during the peak summer months when sunlight is the brightest. The panels will power both buildings and rides like the park’s family roller coaster, Maximus. Surplus power will be fed into the National Grid.
While the news will likely generate some buzz for the park and increase the small park’s profile, I have to wonder if adding the panels will result in an increase in attendance. At the end of the day, an amusement park’s success is decided by its attractions and the experience it provides. Regardless, it is good to see someone leading sustainability efforts in the amusement industry. Crealy Great Adventure Park can already boast a green track record as it uses bio diesel oil for its vehicles, extracts water from a borehole, and uses local suppliers.
Geneva airport just celebrated the opening of the world’s first mobile airport terminal today. The terminal was designed by Austrian company TMT – The Mobile Terminal.
Their “entry level” airport terminal arrives in several standard shipping containers, and can be assembled in about a week. The heated and cooled terminal building features seating for up to 180 people, along with as many self-checkin terminals as required.
The terminals can be built to handle anything from a single gate to multiple >150 passenger jets. Temporary mobile terminals are perfect for high-traffic periods, to replace damaged terminal buildings or during construction work. None of the terminals have been planned for the U.S. yet, but they are fully approved for use in Europe by Eurocontrol, the air traffic control and airport operations agency.
A 20-year old British woman died in a Hampton Inn near the Philadelphia airport on Tuesday, after silicone injections in her posterior didn’t go as planned. AOL News reports that Claudia Adusei and three friends arrived from London on Saturday, and were staying at the hotel. Adusei and one of the friends had visited Philadelphia last November to have their buttocks’ enhanced with silicone (are you noticing the absence of a medical professional or facility in this story?). The duo returned so Adusei could have additional buttocks injections, while her friend had hip augmentation (are you also noticing the irony of women actually paying money to make their butt and hips larger?).
Although silicone is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for cosmetic use, the injection of liquid silicone for cosmetic purposes is prohibited. Silicone implants are medically approved for buttock augmentation, as is fat transfer.
Adusei received injections at noon on Monday, after two women showed up at the hotel to perform the procedures. Only one woman is believed to have performed the injections, and Adusei began complaining of chest pains approximately 12 hours after the procedure, according to police. The suspects vanished shortly thereafter.
Paramedics rushed Adusei to Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital in Delaware County; court documents state she died around 1:30 a.m. A preliminary medical exam indicates that Adusei may have died from silicone entering her vascular system, which would have stopped her heart, says the Delaware County medical examiner. An autopsy must still be completed, and toxicology reports won’t be released for at least six weeks.
[Photo credit: Flickr user [lauren nelson]]”In order to make the buttocks big with liquid silicone, you have to inject a lot of it, and use a large-gauge needle because silicone is really thick–and this could easily get into the blood stream,” explains Dr. Steven Victor, a cosmetic dermatologist in New York City who was consulted by FoxNews. “When this happens, there could be several outcomes. You could have a stroke because it could go to the brain. It could also travel to other vital organs like the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, and liver. This could be extremely detrimental, including death…We need to regulate this kind of activity better and educate the public.”
Tip: Before contemplating any type of cosmetic procedure or plastic surgery, contact the American Society of Plastic Surgeons to check credentials. Then do your homework. If something sounds too good–or cheap–to be true, it probably is.
As for the women who performed the procedures? Police are searching for them, after being tipped off that the procedures were arranged over the Internet. Lt. John Walker of the Philadelphia Police southwest detectives division says that it’s unknown at this time whether the “person performing that procedure is licensed or unlicensed.” The FDA as well as British embassy officials are also investigating Adusei’s death.
Carnival Cruise Lines has a 72 hour sale going on right now that features some of their best cruise values of the year so far. Celebrity Cruises Has a deal on Alaska that will get you up to $400 onboard credit if you book by February 18th.
It’s last-minute bargain time and cruise lines have lined up with offers for you.
Carnival’s 72-hour sale features reduced rates plus their wildly-popular “best available upgrades” promotion, back again. Past guests get reduced rates plus the best available upgrades too and this is on most sailings through 2011. (some blackout dates may apply) Carnival also has extended its “FUN-omenal” best of Europe sale until February 20th.On Celebrity Cruises they are trying to fill up space on end-of-season Alaska sailings from August to Mid-September with Concierge class and below getting $200 Onboard Credit per stateroom. Deluxe accommodations and suites get $400 onboard credit per stateroom. Celebrity is also featuring the Caribbean with sailings starting at $599 per person + tax.
See your Travel Expert for more details as time is running out on these cheap cruise deals.
You don’t have to fly first-class to get the best coffee on Delta Air Lines. Starting March 1st, Delta’s brand will be Seattles Best Coffee. That might not sound like a really big deal but it took a lot of work to make that happen.
Coffee is best when brewed with water that is 197 degrees, just shy of boiling. The problem with brewing coffee in flight (you were right, there was a problem) is that at 30,000 feet, the altitude affects barometric pressure and how hot water reacts to coffee. Enter the Green Coffee Quality Team at Seattles Best Coffee.
Coffee expert Kim Giroir from Seattles Best quality team told Gadling they experimented with a bunch of different blends and finally came up with what they call “Level 4” coffee that is just right for brewing in the sky.
When Seattle’s Best says they want to “bring great coffee everywhere” that’s not just a slogan. Back at the Research and Development labs at Seattles Best, they brewed test blends in a barometric chamber, mimicing the conditions of brewing in the air.
It’s been a meticulously tedious process finding the right blend but taste tests in November had all the cabin crew buzzing about the new coffee. That’s nothing new to the coffee company that relaunched it’s brand at Starbucks headquarters in May.
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Seattle’s Best thinks they have come up with the perfect cup of coffee, no matter where it is served. A big hit on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, it just made sense to take to the air too.
Delta is no stranger to fine cuisine either, taking in-flight dining seriously for quite some time now, especially in their BusinessElite product.
As the official airline of the Food Network New York Wine and Food Festival, Delta Air Lines brought along its roster of six consulting chefs to venues throughout the event.
In 2006, Delta revealed an on-board menu created by celerity chef Michelle Bernstein. As Delta’s consulting chef, Bernstein designed entrees and side dishes which became part of Delta’s continued effort to enhance its BusinessElite product, creating a more inviting and entertaining experience.
In 2007, Delta tapped top chef Todd English to create selections for its food-for-purchase menu being developed for customers flying in its Coach Class on flights within the United States.
“The back of the plane is where the real challenge is,” said English, adding that he plans to help Delta devise business-class meals in the future.
In 2009 hand-served entrees and signature dishes created by Miami celebrity chef Michele Bernstein and master sommelier Andrea Robinson, expanded dessert options and improved Japanese meal options created by Delta’s flight kitchen in Tokyo.
After all that, a good cup of coffee just made sense.