Bury the turtle.

by Annie Scott on

At the Fairmont Kea Lani, the gift shop is stocked with some very eco-friendly fare. To make it easy for guests to see which items are greenest, they tag the items with turtle tags like this one.

Yeah, yeah, a special tag. Whatever. Right? Actually, it’s more special than you might think. The turtles are made from biodegradable fiber and actually embedded with forget-me-not seeds. You can plant this turtle inside or outside, the paper will biodegrade, and you’ll have your very own pretty, blue, Fairmont forget-me-not flowers. That’s not only a very creative way to encourage eco-conscious shopping, it’s a great way to have a reminder of your vacation — or, you know, forget-it-not. (Sorry.)

The Fairmont Kea Lani has a number of environmental initiatives you can read about here, including motion sensors that control the air conditioning and the Recycling Cents program which allows charities to cash in their bottles and cans. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a turtle to bury.

Guess which hotel company is planting a billion trees?

by Annie Scott on


Guess which hotel company is planting a billion trees? Kimpton. That’s right, an unfathomable billion.

Kimpton Hotels has joined up with The Nature Conservancy to help support their Plant a Billion Trees campaign — and it can save you money. If you use the code “Giving Tree” they will give you 10 percent off their best available rate and give $10 to NC’s project, which is the equivalent of 10 trees, which will be planted in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.

“The Atlantic Forest is one of the greatest repositories of biological diversity on Earth, but it is now widely considered the world’s most endangered tropical forest,” said Amy Golden, Chief Conservation Operating Officer for The Nature Conservancy. “We are pleased to partner with Kimpton to bring this forest back from the brink and rebuild it, one tree at a time.”

Kimpton is also donating 5 percent of the proceeds from sales of Natura water bottles to the project — and when you consider how many bottles of water the hotels probably sell company-wide, that’s gonna be no small number.

And just what is the impact of planting a billion trees? The project is expected to “remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, reducing the impact of climate change on biodiversity and human communities.”

Kimpton’s been into sustainability since their inception in 1981. For more information, check out their Earthcare programs here.

The 11 coolest flags in the world?

by Jeremy Kressmann on

The travelers here at Gadling have seen a lot of world flags. We’ve seen the world’s flags made out of food. We were also amused by this opinionated list ranking the world’s best and worst flags. But we just can’t seem to get enough. In fact, in the interest of your ongoing and insatiable need for world flag amusement, we’ve stumbled across yet another list of the “11 Coolest Flags Ever” and wanted to share it (just because we like you).

This new list has no consistent methodology for selection. And some of the flags represent countries and empires that no longer exist. But leave that aside for a moment and simply admire the sheer visual awesomeness of the flags that were selected. In addition to the bear holding the axe shown above (Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia), this highly scientific list includes a flag with a parrot (Dominica), an flag with an AK-47 and a book (Mozambique) and of course the flag of a guy getting beheaded (Benin Empire – don’t mess with them).

Each of these off-the-wall official banners raises an interesting question. What exactly does a flag represent? Does it tell the story of a country’s history and/or creation? Do the colors of the flag have symbolic significance? Perhaps flags don’t mean anything at all – as you can see from Libya’s flag, sometimes you just don’t even bother. Make sure to check out the list and leave us a comment if you know of any “cooler” flags, either historical or current.

Get out and go: Events around the world (October 8-11)

by Brenda Yun on

It’s time to look at the festivals and events happening around the world, and this week has a particularly international selection of happenings. If you’re close and have time, then you have no excuse to get out and go!

  • Albuquerque – The 38th Annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta kicked off earlier this week and runs through October 11. It is the most photographed event on earth, as more than 700 colorful balloons from all over the world fly high in New Mexico’s sky.
  • Amsterdam – ‘Van Gogh’s letters’ exhibition opens on October 9 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The exhibition Van Gogh’s letters offers a fascinating view of Van Gogh as letter-writer and artist.
  • Melbourne – Melbourne International Arts Festival begins October 9. The festival is a series of cultural events by Australian and International artists and will continue through October 25.
  • Washington D.C. – At the Green Festivals this weekend, enjoy more green business lectures, how-to workshops, green films, yoga classes, organic beer, organic cuisine and live music .

If you make it to one of these events, let us know how it was, or if you know of an even that’s coming up, please let us here at Gadling know and we’ll be sure to include it in the next “Get out and go” round-up.

‘Til next week, have a great weekend!

Maldives President proposes green tax for tourists

by Katie Hammel on

The Maldives, an archipelago of over 1000 islands in the Indian Ocean known for their stunning beauty and expensive, luxurious resorts, aren’t exactly cheap to visit. And they aren’t about to get any cheaper. The President of the Maldives has proposed a $3 per day “green tax” on tourists.

The tax would help fund the President’s plans for fighting climate change and for making the Maldives a carbon-neutral country within the next decade. He has a vested interest in stopping global warming – the Maldives are the lowest-lying islands on the planet, with an average elevation of only 7 feet above sea level, and it is estimated that they could be completely submerged by rising sea levels within the next ten years.

With an average of 700,000 visitors, who each stay around three days, visiting the Maldives annually, the tax could provide the country with over $6 million per year for environmental initiatives. With most resorts in the Maldives costing $500 (or much more) per night, $3 per person, per day is a small price to pay to help protect this vulnerable country from the dangers of climate change.