Eco Tourism Blog

If you consider fast packing or trail running your favorite activity, you might want to check out the trails of Tasmania, Australian island state. This island is home to 19 national parks and offers day hikers as well backpackers a multitude of trails all over. In fact, Tassie is probably the best region in the southern hemisphere for multi day hill walking or even for day hiking.

Here, weather can change with the blink of an eye. Clouds and rain one moment. Bright sunshine along with bone chilling cold (even in summer). From what have I heard and learned about this part of the world, the climate is very weird indeed. But, don’t let this discourage you from your hiking plans. The Tasmanian park service people has plenty of offers for the hikers.

At cradle mountain, the park service maintains a bus service every 10 minutes from outside the parking lot. Also, if you don’t feel like scrambling up rocks, you can consider a leisurely stroll up paved terrain that are even wheelchair friendly. Guess what? Tassie even offers some skiing in winter. So, there’s something for everyone.

Central Tasmania is about 1900 miles north of Antarctic circle. That’s the distance between El Paso and Washington. Smart hikers equip themselves with extra gear which does come in handy sometimes.If you come to Tassie , make sure you hike up the customary trail to Mt Wellington, overlooking Hobart. At the top superb vistas will be waiting for you.

I am sure this will be an unforgettable journey for you. To keep things comfy, make sure you pack several layers, and survival gear. However, for fast hiking tent is not required since you will have a base like a hut.

Image Credits: Chockstone [1], [2], [3]

The barn owl also known as the screech owl, because of its high-pitched scream, is one of several owls native to Britain. It is the silent hunter of dusk and dawn which has emerged as Britain’s favorite farmland bird. With heart shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white under parts the barn owl is a distinctive and much loved countryside bird.

It is widely distributed across the UK. Barn owl can be recognized by its light colored plumage which is white on its front and orange-brown on its back with ash grey colored specks. It has a heart shaped disc of feathers around its face.

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It relies mostly entirely on small rodents and unlike some other birds of prey tend to stay fairly local for hunting. If barn owl gets wet, it has to face problem especially if food is scarce, because ‘getting dry’ requires energy, and of course, regular intake of mice and voles is a pre-requisite for the provision of energy.

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Barn owl has such sensitive hearing it is able to exactly locate a field mouse rustling through straw in a pitch dark barn. Its ears are located at different positions on the sides of its head. One is at the height of its forehead and the other is level with its nostril. Barn Owls do not build nests themselves. Instead they rely on a variety of nesting sites for laying their eggs, such as tree cavities, rock ledges, and ledges in barns.

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The bird has suffered declines over the past fifty years as a result of the degradation of once prey-rich habitats in the face of intensive agricultural practices. This decline, fortunately, has halted in many areas and the population may now be increasing.

Image Credit for the first picture

Source: Telegraph

Don’t be too sure that the atlas you are referring to gives you the right map of a particular area! Even the newest redrawn maps are finding it hard to cope up with developmental, infrastructural and environmental changes taking place around the world today. The more vivid the atlas is the greater problem it faces.

With a goal to study the role of Arctic and Antarctic Oceans in shaping the climate and ecosystems of the earth, Russian scientists in collaboration with German scientist plan to carry out a project in August. This project is one of the many projects of International Polar Year. It’ll be for the first time in the history of Russian research that drifting stations will be used. Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St Petersburg will together work on the project.

The scientists and researchers will go on an eight month voyage through the Arctic Ocean to examine the coupling of sea ice and atmosphere. Russian project partners will focus their investigations on sea ice, primarily performing measurements close to the ice. These measurements will be supplemented by Jurgen Graeser.

There will be 36 expedition participants that will board the Russian research vessel Akademik Fedorov in the Siberian harbor of Tiksi on August 29, 2007. They will advance the currently patchy data situation in the Arctic. A stable ice floe between 80 and 85 degrees northern latitude and between 170 degrees eastern and 170 degrees western longitude will be chosen as the base for the drifting station North Pole 35.

The ice floe will drift in the Arctic Ocean and across the North Pole during winter. During this drift the information about current climate change will be provided by the variety of measurements carried out at the station.

The upper ocean layer, sea ice, and snow cover will be investigated. Atmospheric measurements of meteorological parameters such as temperature, wind, humidity and air pressure, will be added through recordings of trace gases such as carbon dioxide and ozone.

Polar 5, the research aircraft of the Alfred Wegener Institute will fly out Jurgen Graeser and five Russian colleagues after approximately eight months, in April 2008.

Landing strip will be constructed on the ice.
The project will help the scientists to understand the key regions for global climate change.

Source: Science Daily

From the products we buy to our travel habits, almost everything we do affects our planet. But how easy is it to reduce our impact on the planet? Everyday, people commute from one place to another, whether for work, education, shopping or leisure. Humankind is a species which cherishes the freedom to travel where and when the individual chooses. But this travel is not without cost. Yes, I’m talking about the environmental cost.

I’m sure you’ll agree with me if I say that people in the past were not aware of this environmental cost but these days, travelers are becoming more aware of the damage their trips may do to the environment. Thinking of travelers is undergoing a significant change and they are willing to alter their actions to protect the environment.

The recent online polling of more than 24,500 consumers from 144 countries, conducted by the guidebook publisher Lonely Planet shows that the number of people willing to consider offsetting carbon emissions has increased.

The travelers are willing to opt for more radical options such as giving up flying for less damaging modes of transport, the introduction of an annual personal carbon allowance into which they must fit their travel and reducing the number of flights taken or increasing the cost of flying via a carbon tax.

Traveling by train is time consuming and more expensive as compared to air-travel and people are putting off by the high price of tickets. Following table shows the comparison between rail fares and airfares to Rome and Madrid from Britain’s major cities.

I agree that some people are putting off trains for reason being hight ticket prices but the majority of people still find trains as viable alternative for traveling. The increasing number of such people who are willing to alter their actions brings hope that our planet might be saved.

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Source: Telegraph

Love to camp outdoors? Why not try La Rosa camping caravans! Situated in the picturesque North Yorkshire Moors National Park, this environmentally sensitive campsite brings together a collection of classic caravans in 20 acres of woodland.

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Zoo is definitely the right place for animal watching but seeing animals in their own natural habitat is beyond comparison. If you wish to see the polar bears in their natural environment, just head to Churchill, Manitoba. Nowhere can you see polar bears so up-close and personal as you can here.

Between October and November, Hudson Bay freezes and this town is overrun with polar bears as they travel their migration path. You can take a tundra buggy for a quick day trip. A number of tour operators are based in Churchill and Winnipeg and operate polar bear tours from mid-October to early autumn. The Victor Emanuel Nature tour costs approximately $3,500 per person. Click here to get listings and other information on polar bears.

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During your stay, you can enjoy all the natural wonders that have made Churchill a must-see for any adventure traveler. For longer exposure, there are tundra lodges that provide all day exposure to the bears in their native environment. Don’t forget to pack warm clothes including waterproof boots.

Getting There:

Churchill, Manitoba is one of the remotest communities on the Hudson Bay and it is difficult to drive there. There are about 50 miles of local roads but the nearest land access is a 300-mile train ride on Muskeg Express.

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Getting Around:

The Eskimo Museum is well worth a visit, as is the polar bear jail. Here bears that wander into town are isolated before being moved back into the wild.

I don’t think you’ll ever want to miss the opportunity to take some amazing photographs and live an experience you’ll remember for a lifetime. So, plan your next trip to Churchill, Manitoba and see the polar bears in their natural environment. This will surely be a memorabilia!

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Libya is planning to build a green village to protect the Greek and Roman ruins in Cyrene from haphazard developments. Cyrene is one of the oldest and the richest Greek cities and lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar uplands. It is home to some of the most beautiful ancient structures like the Temple of Apollo, the temple of Demeter and the temple of Zeus. Most of these were damaged under the orders of Moammar Al Quadhafi in 1978.

The project, the Green Mountain Conservation , will be powered with wind and solar energy and the trash generated would be recycled and converted into biofuel. The architecture of the resorts, hotels, villas and residences would be in sync with the rugged landscape. The idea is to blend environmental and cultural tourism across the thousand miles of undeveloped coastlines.

Once the Thames of ‘Great Stink’ has emerged as a habitat to more than 100 species of sea animals today. Cleaner water is encouraging grey seals, dolphins, whales and porpoises to come up into the river and have become a common sight for the public around Tower Bridge and Westminster.

After the runaway success with hybrid cars, Japan is bringing the world’s first environment-friendly hybrid train. The train named Kiha E200, developed by East Japan Railway Co. is the latest entrant in the battle against global warming and is scheduled to debut on the Koumi Line in central Japan on July 31, 2007.

It’s a two-train car that is powered by a diesel engine and electric batteries. Also, there is lithium iron battery installed on the train’s roof that has a capacity equal to the batteries of 3,000-4,000 regular mobile phones. The batteries of the train are charged when the train slows down.

The train has 46 seats and can hold 117 people including standees. Compared to conventional trains, the new technology will help reducing emissions of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter by up to 60 percent. The fuel consumption is cut by up to 20 percent.

In addition to the hybrid train, the Railway Technical Research Institute of Tokyo plans to develop a hybrid-type next-generation streetcar or light rail transit (LRT) by next year.

Source: IHT