High-speed rail "coming to America"

The Wall Street Journal's Middle Seat blog reports on reactions to $8 billion of federal stimulus money going to high-speed rail development.

Airlines were upset because high-speed rail could signal competition and "further erode their customer bases."

In two or three decades, Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood said at the FAA annual forecasting conference, U.S. cities will be connected by high-speed rail – whether airlines like it or not.

"Let me give you a little bit of political advice: Don’t be against high-speed rail," Sec. LaHood said. "It’s coming to America. This is the president’s vision, this is the vice president’s vision, this is America’s vision…. We’re going to get into the high-speed rail business."

European and Asian countries such as Taiwan (picture right) already have high-speed rail lines.

Read the full story: LaHood to airlines: get onboard the high-speed train

Photo from Stephen Fung.net

Bike to power Copenhagen xmas tree

The Wall Street Journal reports on the biking power that is lighting Copenhagen's Christmas tree.

At the Danish capital’s City Hall Square, 15 to 20 volunteers can sit on stationary bikes located around a massive, decorated tree and pedal away to keep it light, at least during the day. The bikes are connected to electrical tie-ups that ultimately power hundreds of lights on the tree.

Read the full story: Pedal power

Photo by AFP / Getty Images

Celebrate Adirondacks at new museum

The Wall Street Journal reviews the new upstate New York Wild Center.

The museum celebrates the natural world of the Adirondacks.

But calling it just a museum would be rash since there are live animals and interactive exhibits.

"We're part aquarium, part natural history museum and part science center," says Stephanie Ratcliffe, executive director of the Wild Center.

The location is Tupper Lake, NY about six hours from New York City.

Read the full story: Where the wild things are

Obama cuts funds for hydrogen vehicles

The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog reports that among President Obama's budget cuts is $100 million funding for hydrogen vehicle technology.

I never thought I would write anything positive about the Bush administration but they were the ones back in 2003 to call for funding of research into hydrogen fuel technology.

But it looks like it's very expensive when alternatives like electric cars are cheaper:

But lately, enthusiasm among auto makers and politicians has been shifting away from hydrogen toward electric vehicles. One reason: the enormous projected cost of developing an infrastructure of hydrogen filling stations. The National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, said last year that the total cost of deploying a national hydrogen network could be as high as $200 billion, including $55 billion in government aid through 2023. And that amount, the council said, would be enough to put only two million hydrogen cars on the road - a small fraction of the total U.S. vehicle population of about 300 million cars and trucks.

Read the full story: Running on empty

Asia bird-watching is some of the best in the world

The Wall Street Journal weekend's Steve Mollman reports from Southeast Asia on the growing popularity of bird-watching in that part of the world.

His first-hand account starts off bad; he woke up late for the beginning of his Bali, Indonesia birding tour and runs to meet his group - (probably making a big ruckus and actually scaring the birds the group wants to see).

Most of the people who go on bird-watching tours in Asia are westerners, but the sport is slowly catching on with Asians:

"In fact, birders are spoiled for choice in Asia, with great sites from Malaysia to China to Taiwan. Indonesia's Sulawesi island 'is becoming increasingly popular,' thanks in part to better roads and more inter-island flights, says James Eaton, a 26-year-old British birding enthusiast who runs U.K.-based Birdtour Asia.

And then there is India. 'Everywhere you go, there's birds,' says Mr. Eaton. Even in Delhi's city center, he says he finds species ranging from eagles to wild green parakeets."

Read the full story: Flight time: bird-watching takes off in Asia

Mollman mentions the bird-watching tours in Cambodia run by the Sam Veasna Center, where Ecotravel News traveled to last year. For more on this click here to read my print report and click here to watch my video report.

Staycations, ultimate in ecotravel

Although we at Ecotravel News do enjoy traveling and since most vacations are too short to get to the ultimate way (which is slow traveling like in this previous post) we unfortunately need to use airplanes...

But because of the weak dollar and high gas prices, many aren't even able to afford going on a vacation anywhere, even by car - so a new word and way to have a vacation without going anywhere is a staycation. And by not traveling anywhere, these staycationers carbon footprints are much smaller and can be classified as ecotravelers.

But just because some can't afford to travel anywhere doesn't mean their staycations have to be dull. The Wall Street Journal Weekend found some innovative folks who are making the most of their staycations.

One New Yorker is "visiting" Japan on her staycation, without ever leaving the NYC area. Watch her video report below:



Some others have created campsites in their living rooms and another has created a new business by making over people's homes into hotel rooms (at a price of $50-$60 for two nights).

Read the full story: Postcards from the hedge: faking a vacation at home

Virgin flies first flight with biofuels

Ecotravel news is pleased to see that The Wall Street Journal online edition is now free to the public. So although a few weeks late, The Middle Seat column reported last month on Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airlines' first flight using biofuels. Although they only used a mixture of 20 percent biofuels to 80 percent regular jet fuel, it's still better than 100 percent jet fuel:

"Airlines are under mounting pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, even though aviation's pollutants amount to less than 3% of all emissions. Jets are visible signs of environmental damage, and scientists have concerns that pollutants dropped directly into high altitudes may be more dangerous than those released on the ground."

Sir Branson also made a show of actually tasting the biofuel concoction of coconut and Brazilian nut oils.

Read the full story: Virgin puts biofuels on maiden voyage