carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators report that the number of tourists travelling to the Antarctic, during the summer season, have increased from approximately 6,700 people in 1992/1993 to to 28,200 in 2005/2006.  On the one hand does this indicate people are visiting destinations before they may be lost forever?

“The bottlenose dolphins of the Moray Firth are one of Scotland’s best-known wildlife spectacles. Besides bottlenose dolphins, cetaceans such as harbour porpoises, minke whales, Risso’s dolphins and other species are reported in the summer season, especially by boat operators in the Firth. Boat operators from Macduff, Banff, Buckie, Lossiemouth, Nairn, Inverness, Avoch, Cromarty and Portmahomack participate in the Dolphin Space Programme. DSP accredited operators are committed to providing high quality wildlife watching trips which do not cause disturbance to marine wildlife.”  From VisitScotland - to find out more click here.

“Volunteering and training with The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust. The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust runs training courses in the springtime, and a research project throughout the season. HWDT also welcome volunteers to help us with education and conservation projects year round.

No background knowledge of cetaceans is required for either volunteering or courses, they ask only for volunteers to be enthusiastic and willing to learn about the marine mammals and their environment.

The Trust carries out a variety of education and conservation projects, and also organises and attends a number of marine based events throughout the year. Volunteering with the Trust gives an insight into the workings of a busy charity, and provides valuable experience in a wide range of areas including scientific data collection, creation of education resources, giving talks, helping with beach cleans, running workshops and much more.

The field of marine conservation is highly competitive, and volunteer work is often required in order to further a career in this area. Volunteering with their team of marine conservationists is an enjoyable way to acquire this experience. It should be noted that they do not offer opportunities for long-term research volunteering for those without experience.”

From VisitScotland to find out more here.

The Times wrote a short article, we’re all going on a carbon neutral holiday earlier in the year.

Amtrak which provides rail services to 500 destinations in 46 states on 22,000 miles of track has partnered with the Carbonfund to offer a carbon offsetting service to passengers. US$3.00 offsets 2,500 miles of travel with Amtrak!

I’ve created a group on Facebook for Carbon Neutral Tourism.  Just loggin in and search for ‘carbon neutral tourism’ under the group tag.

Richard

The Eden Project in Cornwall is one of the leading environmental visitor attractions in the UK have recently picked their first coffee beans from the Humid Tropics Biome and roasted them at Fifteen’s restaurant.  Read more on Tristan Stephenson’s blog.

Maybe in California?

Tourists/travellers are now taking holidays to destinations which are under threat of disappearing.  Read more here.

An interesting article in the New York Times travel section about climate change. Greenland is becoming a popular destination for people who want to observe at first hand the effects of climate change. The Ilulissat Ice Fjord is one of the most popular trips - several years ago the fjord was 25 miles long and due to melting ice it has increased to 31 miles in length.