There are a number of icons that come out of Australia, and many people know the world wallabie, although not too many people in America know exactly what one is. However, back down in the land down under they are not only becoming known, but a new use has been thought up for them and it is becoming a fad to get them and use them as lawnmowers. There are only a few people who breed these creatures though, so the demand for them threatens to exceed the number actually available.

While the whole story can be found on other places on the web, the short end of it is that a British Petroleum oil rig crashed and sank last week. The whole thing has been leaking since then and they are now sure of at least three spots from which it is leaking. The oil came very close to the shoreline, but Obama is doing everything in his power to get it cleaned up as soon as possible. The American people will not have to pay for the clean up, that bill will fall on the hands of BP.

Well, there are many places to eat as a vegetarian. Many of these restaurants have some great ethnic twists of Indian and Asian cuisine and an be found all over the world. Even if you wonder into a steakhouse, these days, you can find that they will accommodate your needs and serve up some nice veggies and salads for you. Being a vegetarian is a whole life style. It also means that you don’t buy or ware anything that has come from an animal like leather products. I am sure you have heard about the paint bombing of people wearing fur coats and leather jackets. To me, that is sort of the opposite of being a peaceful vegetarian and wouldn’t recommend it but I suppose this is how some people have expressed their feelings about the industry of leather goods.

Cotton is the way to go. Even synthetic fiber wear is better than leather for a vegetarian. Hemp is also a very popular material use for vegetarians. Now people can find eco-friendly products for advertising with logos on it like at Leaderpromos.com. These products are not only saving animals they are meant to save the planet too. They even have a great selection of biodegradable mugs that are supposed to degrade in a managed landfill with in 5 years. There are some nice handcrafted wear at Tinctoria made for men and women in current style of today. Some people think of hemp baggy pants and shirts when they think of vegetarian styles but this is no longer true. Now there are more companies making more form fitting outfits with all sorts of non animal based fabrics.

So current times are a good time to be a vegetarian. There are many more options that fit your lifestyle like great cookbooks and restaurants as well as fashionable clothing.

 This summer a decision was reached by the United States Supreme Court. This involves the recovery of the costs on the government, in regards to the environmental efforts to cleanup toxic spills when the various companies are found to have little or no responsibility, when they are found to be not at fault. 

This stemmed from a case in Kern County, California, in the city of Arvin.  Any Los Angeles County or Orange County lawyer knows that this can have serious circumstances, especially for those counties that sit along the coastlines of the Pacific Ocean. This decision has served to expand the breadth of what was formally known to be the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act, and is now referred to simply as the Superfund Law. 

This law limits which kind of company would be able to be held liable for any toxic contamination or chemical spills, and it governs which situations are those that a company would be held liable to carry the entire cost of any cleanup necessary following such a spill.  This has all stemmed from a chemical contamination that happened in Arvin, California.  The company is in the distribution industry.  The company had experienced ongoing leaks on their plant, and the company that sold them those chemicals was the Shell Oil Company. 

The distribution company has since claimed bankruptcy and gone out of business.   In this case it was not the Shell company that was directly responsible for the contamination, however under the Superfund Law, due to the fact that Shell knew that this was an ongoing problem and did nothing about it, that were to be held responsible.  One of the Supreme Court Justices claimed that since Shell was not directly responsible, the grounds for liability were insufficient. 

While another of the Justices dissented, stating that when a company is aware of what is going on and does nothing about it for twenty years, that the cost of cleanup should be the responsibility of the Shell Oil Company and not the responsibility of the taxpayers.  For now, they are to be held partially financially responsible, unless the decision gets over turned once again.

There are certain considerations to the care of hot tubs, such as maintaining temperatures and the cleaning process.  Once a cover is removed and the jets are turned on, should they be forced-air jets, the temperature of the water will begin to decrease at a fairly rapid rate.  Should one wish to cool the temperature, one may add cooler water.  The more people join in the tub, the more the water will cool.  In response one may want to raise the temperature on the thermostat to counter act this.  Perhaps even adjusting the temperature ahead of time, as once the water cools, it will a bit of time for it to heat up again.  Many varieties of tubs with various modes of thermostat control are found at choosehottubsdirect.com.  Not only will the right hot tub for ones needs be found here, but also the many other appliances and items that make ones ownership of the spas more enjoyable.

It is important that one keeps the water in their hot tub clean.  Warm water will promote the growth of bacteria faster than the cool water of a swimming pool, so care must be taken to add the necessary chemicals and agents to the water.  Most of the species found in the tubs is not fatal, but they have been known to be responsible for various rashes on the skin.  Also, from time to time, it is best to just change the water completely.  All this aside, owning a hot tub is a wonderful experience, the health benefits and the relaxing social situations that occur are well worth the time and the energy it takes to maintain the spa.

One of the results of soaking in the hot water is that the blood vessels will dilate and the blood pressure will lower.  And consequently, circulation will increase, which leaves one with the feeling of rejuvenation after a long hard day at the office, or the many hours of transporting kids from one activity to another.   The buoyancy one feels while in large bodies of water, not only feels wonderful, but is wonderful for the physical body.  Pressure is removed from the joints and the spinal column, relieving tension and relieving the work load of the heart, believe it or not.  And while soaking at night serves to relax one and get them ready for a night of sweet dreams and peaceful sleep, soaking in the morning will have the effect of revitalization and energy necessary for the start of the day.

During the mid 80’s a group of us planned an outdoor BBQ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue because we were tired of using the BBQ Islands at our complex in the city. It would take us until midnight to reach the hill top destination for the BBQ. During those days all the lamp posts would automatically switch off at midnight. So, at first we wanted to use a short-cut through an old abandoned warehouse, but since it was too dark and without any external lighting we had to take the longer route which cut through a park going down a long steps leading to the middle of the park facing the sea.

When we arrived, we had to use the BBQ pit in the center of the park because the one nearest to the public restrooms was already occupied and was really too far away. As some of us started preparing the pit for the fire, a few of us, including myself, took a pails to the public restroom to fill them up with water. Along the way, we could see the other people at the restroom BBQ pit, barbecuing away, however, it got pretty smoky after we filled up our pails with water on our way back to our BBQ pit. The people disappeared. They were gone, nowhere in site. It only took us about 8 minutes to fill the pails inside the public restroom, so how could they possibly vacate so quickly, leaving without a trace?

We inspected the pit, but there was no sign of any BBQ activity, no burning embers of charcoal, nothing, not even traces of water being poured over the coals to put them out. The trash container next to the pit was empty too. We were perplexed. How could anybody clear up and out within 8 minutes? And really, how many people bother to clear up the pit especially if the charcoal is still alive?

We continued our BBQ though without incident or any other strange occurrence and heading back home after it took us almost an hour to clear out the pit and clean up our area. We are all still puzzled, even today, about that night out in the park were 4 of us witnessed the complete disappearance of our next door Barbequers.

The second annual Green Festival will happen this summer in Leazes Park, in the city of Newcastle, during the second week end of June. This has been termed the event to watch for spring by the BBC and with its short history has become well known for family fun and celebration. Organized events such as story telling hours or face painting and other artistic activities happen throughout the weekend in the Park. This year there will be carnival rides and a billboard painting lesson, wherein the children are given high powered spray guns filled with paint. Along with the exciting activities planned, a new element will be added this summer. That element is centered around the theme of sensory play. Various forms of art therapy, including music and painting and drawing, will be taking place as well as lectures for families concerning travel safety and streets that are safe for those riding their bicycles or walking around the different city streets. The lectures are participatory in nature, involving important lessons to be actively learned while participating in board games. Life sized board games in which the participants are the pieces.

Seminars and activities more interesting perhaps for the adults, will be presented and offered in the business and New Castle hotel and restaurant district. There will be a premier fashion show, hi-lighting and promoting ethical and earth friendly clothes and accessories. Craft classes will also be offered, everything from making jewelry to hats and satchels, to the creation of a more eco-friendly home through the use of wind powered generators and solar panels. The efficiency and power of solar panels demonstrated by a film festival in a theater generating their power from said solar panels. And along with the movies, three separate stages will feature the very best of live musical performances. The Center for Alternative Technology will also be providing discussion groups and panels to further educate the public on the value of, the perks of and the necessity of sustaining energy and protecting the environment. And at the end of the day, bicycle peddlers will offer smoothies and refreshments made with organic ingredients obtained from self sufficient farms. As in many countries throughout the world today, including Spain and the United States, festivals of this nature, for nature, are gaining in popularity as the need for the impact societies are having on the environment is becoming something that all the people, in all regions, must become aware of.

In 2007, three people decided to create a non-profit organization, the Cicada Tree Eco-Place. The three founders, Vilma D’Rozario, Celine Low, and Teresa Teo-Guttensohn, met while they were in the Nature Society of Singapore. The NSS is also a non-profit group which began in 1940. This group was conducting classes and seminars, and taking people on nature walks, with the goal of expanding peoples’ awareness of the natural heritage of Singapore. Most of what this group did was to provide educational backdrops, with scientists and researchers lecturing and teaching. Which is what Cicada Tree does, however with children. The belief of the founders is that one must overcome their fears, in order to be kind, specifically in the this case, the fear most people have of reptiles, snakes and insects. The first thing a child may be pre -disposed to do when seeing a spider is to… smash it. The group travels around to the schools, and leads the children on nature walks, teaching them about the various species in the animal and insect world as well as discussions on the native plants. In this way, the children lose their fear and gain knowledge. And with knowledge of subjects, most often time comes respect of those subjects.

In the last two years, the three have conducted these outdoor classes on everything from butterflies to carnivorous plants to toads. Joining with the Bukit Timah society, the activities remain educational. Scientists visiting conduct the nature walks. The name is founded through the tree and its roots. Freshwater swamps, at one time, were home to the trees, however, many swamps have been cleared for construction. With a habitat so threatened, this area not only supports classes for children but requires them for adults as well. It has been said that although children watch the ‘nature’ channels that focus on the territory they live, the children know more about the environment in Singapore. Through the classes for children, and the others around the city, this Island with a rain forest running through downtown now stands a chance at rebuilding, not only the luxury Singapore business hotels, but the cafes, the wharfs and the life of the city state and island that is known as the jewel of the Orient.

Earth Hour is coming to India and the IT capital of Bangalore will be participating. As one of the highest power consuming Indian cities, Bangalore is working to raise awareness of the environmental impact of not only tech and other industries, but of the individuals and families in the area.

The M.G. Road and Brigade Road shopping districts have promised to participate by turning off their lights from 8:30 – 9:30 pm on Saturday, March 28th. Local trade associations have worked over the past few weeks to ensure there will be ample candle light and security for shoppers. Restaurants, five star hotels in Bangalore, as well as IT companies are all expected to join in the event.

Employees of the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) were strongly encouraged to participate as well. Officials believe that most if not all will turn off their lights.

The city’s power demands are approximately 32 million units(mu) of power a day. Since they only receive 27 million units, that’s a shortage of five mu per day. The state of Karnataka (of which Bangalore is the capital) has a daily shortage of 9 mu.

The global observance of Earth Hour began two years ago in Australia to call attention to the effects of global warming. This year over 80 countries are committed to participating and an anticipated billion homes and businesses will go dark for one hour on Saturday night.

An island, mobile and floating through the waters of the earth, twice as large as the continental US is growing in size and affecting countries, oceans and seas far away from its originating point in the Pacific Ocean. Just off the coast of California, heading towards Hawaii and Japan, this acts as an anti-sponge, releasing garbage and sludge into the atmosphere of the ocean, the largest ‘dump’ in the world. This has effects as far away as the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The currents of the underwater swirls have carried the shite far from its original resting place. In the Mediterranean Sea, floating in the waters that boast many luxury Ibiza hotels and Mallorca resorts, advertising clean, pristine waters, 75% of the oceans pollution comes from human rubbish. Of that, 95% are plastic shopping bags. Once thought a great idea to have a contained island for all the plastic garbage, it is now considered a soup, spreading and leaking out into all the worlds’ bodies of water. And when the soup hits land, it’s as the day after a New Years party, a confetti of scattered and multi-colored plastic debris. One scientist put it in a not so scientific term, saying it was as if the floating island of trash, floats by and ‘barfs’ on islands in its path.

Just about a quarter of the trash is what gets tossed off boats, cruise ships and tankers. Things such as kitchen pots, footballs, children’s toys and suitcases. The other junk comes from consumers on land. On top of questioning how this could possibly happen for a short period of time, such as oil spills that cause such upheaval and a rise to environmental arms so to speak…these are occurrences that get cleaned up relatively quickly, this floating rubbish has been happening and growing and dispersing itself for years. A captain of an oil tanker, upon witnessing this first hand, sold his assets and his business shares to become a full time activist. In ten years the amount of plastic waste in the oceans of the world is expected to double, should the humans of the world continue their use of disposable containers. Makes one think twice about the plastic, but good for you, contained bottled water.

The latest market information from The Bench, the sole provider of daily performance data to the hotel sector, shows that Brussels hotels have enjoyed an impressive 2007 so far, but that weekends remain the city’s Achilles heel.

Read More at Hospitality Net…

I found this great site for bed and breakfast hotels and houses in Alnwick – alnwickbedandbreakfasts.co.uk

The Notting Hill Carnival will see over 2 million people take to the West London streets to soak up the lively atmosphere of the two day festival to celebrate all things Caribbean. Whilst it is a regular yearly outing for many Londoners, it also attracts many thousands of visitors to the capital.

As expected nearby hotel accommodation is quickly booking out and prices are expected to shoot up around the event dates. Leading London hotel reservation specialist BHRC Online (www.bhrc.co.uk) recommends booking a hotel in Bayswater or Paddington early so as to avoid last minute disappointment. BHRC Online has tied-up with hotels around the events and there are still some good discounts up to 60% available for Internet bookings.   Read more

Amid evidence that British tourists would rather their hotel be sustainably run than have five-stars, the UK tourist board VisitBritain is aiming to establish a green marque which will establish which have genuinely green credentials.

Only 4 per cent of holiday-makers would choose to book a five-star hotel over a four-star establishment, which is sustainably run, according to recent research from the Travel Foundation.

The clamour to know that a hotel’s green claims are valid has led to VisitBritain’s project, which is expected to come to fruition in the New Year.  Read more

TVC Holdings PLC said it has led a consortium of investors to buy 11 Comfort Inn and Quality Hotels in Ireland for 41.5 mln eur from Kasterlee Ltd to strengthen this hotel business in Ireland and the UK.

The investment holding company said the deal represents a total investment of 46.5 mln eur, including 3 mln eur of development capital.

The acquisition will be funded with a combination of equity from TVC Holdings, Pat McCann and Davy Private Clients and a loan from the Ulster Bank, it added. TVC said it has invested 10 mln eur for a 29 pct stake in the hotels.  Read more

Hotels in Bucharest registered the fastest growth in their occupancy rates in the first six months of this year, leaving behind cities such as London, Moscow and Istanbul.

Overall, Bucharest is above the European average and also ranks fourth in terms of the occupancy rates registered among the most important cities in Europe.

The hotels in the Capital reached an occupancy rate of 74.6% in the first half, an increase of 13.1% against the same time last year, thus exceeding the European average of 67.1%.  Read more

Golden Tulip Hospitality is proud to announce three additions to its Benelux portfolio; two in the Netherlands and one in Belgium

Golden Tulip Hospitality Group has contracted a new Golden Tulip hotel in the Dutch city Gouda – the property will feature a minimum of 98 rooms and is scheduled to open by the end of 2008/ early 2009. Golden Tulip Hospitality, the Municipality of Gouda, Bontebal Vastgoed and Park King signed on Saturday June 23rd the agreements pertaining to the whole project named “Bolwerk”, this included the lease agreement for the Golden Tulip Gouda.   Read more

The business traveller’s search for cheaper hotel accommodation has helped to fuel a near doubling of the UK budget hotel market since 2000, pushing its turn-over beyond £1bn.

Whitbread’s Premier Travel Inn and Dubai International Capital’s Travelodge have provided much of the supply growth, the number of extra rooms increasing by about 8,000 rooms a year on average so far this decade.

Last year, the top two each added 2,000 rooms, compared with French-based Accor’s 449 rooms and Express by Holiday Inn with 356, according to research by TRI Hospitality Consulting.  Read more

Irish property investor Quinlan Private has emerged as an early leading contender to buy Marylebone Warwick Balfour’s chain of boutique hotels, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin.

MWB, run by Richard Balfour-Lynn, hired Bank of America to sell the businesses following his failed attempt to float Vector Hospitality, a real estate investment trust potentially worth £2.6bn. Vector included Hotel du Vin, Malmaison and other assets owned by Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS. The flotation failed due to lack of interest from investors.

MWB originally wanted a £450m sale and leaseback of the hotels but this week directors confirmed that the group intends to sell the hotel operations along with the real estate.  Read more

The siesta is making a comeback, recycled for the modern world as “Iberian yoga”. Far from the afternoon snooze that consumes valuable working time, Spain’s siesta is being rebranded as essential for spiritual wellbeing and a balanced life.

Long hailed as the country’s greatest contribution to civilisation, the siesta – “Spain’s secret weapon”, according to this weekend’s ABC newspaper – is being relaunched in Seville.

Hoteliers in the southern hotspot are trying to lure visitors back from the beach by offering rooms between 3pm and 7pm at 30 per cent of the normal rate, to slumber through the hottest hours. The idea is that you emerge refreshed to enjoy the late afternoon, sunset and after dark, which Spaniards savour as the best time of the day.  Read more

Leading Ulster hotelier Lord Diljit Rana today unveiled plans to build five more hotels in the province.  His Andras House company is to spend £50m developing the hotels under the Ibis brand, which is new to Northern Ireland. The first of the new hotels is to be built in Belfast’s King Street – and construction is set to get under way within the next few weeks.  The other locations have yet to be decided but Andras House, which already operates four hotels in the province, said the rollout will generate 200 new jobs.  Read more

The Ritz-Carlton Moscow threw open its neo-imperial doors near the Kremlin last week. The cheapest room for the summer tourist season is US$1036 ($1324) with tax.

That rate reflects how Moscow hotel openings are lagging behind room demand fuelled by soaring tourism, exports and investor interest in the world’s largest energy producer.

“I can’t spend more than US$200 a night, so I ended up a 15-minute bus ride beyond the southern end of a subway line,” said Peter Beck, Korea director for International Crisis Group, after arriving from Seoul. “When a Russian looked at the address of my hotel, he said, ‘Don’t go out at night.”‘

Little relief is in sight for business travellers. While the number of visitors to Moscow hit 3.8 million last year, up from 300,000 in 1991, wrecking crews have demolished four Soviet-era hotels in the past five years, wiping out 5000 hotel rooms within a 10-minute walk of Red Square.  Read more

The attractions of the British hotels sector looked rosier yesterday as news of the proposed sale of Hilton Hotels Corporation moved analysts to speculate on the prospect for further takeover activity.

InterContinental Hotels and Whitbread stood out among the large-cap risers. Of mid-cap stocks, Millennium & Copthorne pushed higher.

Blackstone’s agreed $26 billion (£13 billion) deal for Hilton valued the hotels giant at a 32 per cent premium to its closing share price before last night’s announcement.   Read more

Epoque Hotels goes to Italy. The American company continues to excel in establishing the most coveted collection of acclaimed luxury boutique hotels in the world, and is getting ready to introduce itself to the Italian public in Milan. On June 7th, 2007, Epoque Hotels begins the European campaign in the first city of Lombardy at the Hotel Enterprise, offering a conference dedicated to tourist professionals, followed by a cocktail reception open to the public. Attending the conference also the K-West Hotel & Spa – London, Hotel Tourville – Paris, Mirò Hotel – Bilbao, Hotel Gran Central – Barcelona and the 3.14 Hotel – Cannes, some of the finest properties of the collection.  Read more

In the same week that Paris Hilton hits the headlines with the start of her jail sentence, the Hilton group has announced a major new development, which will see 55 new hotels built by 2012.

The cost of the project will be $1.7 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal, with hotels planned in Russia, Britain and Central America.

Eleven major Russian cities will see the 25 new hotels planned for the country, including Moscow and St Petersburg. Read more

The “Bio-Hotels”-group is celebrating its 6th year in existence. The club counts a total of 45 businesses from seven EU states to its member-list, eleven of which are in Austria. The bed capacity of the accommodation business is at the moment 2900 beds, and the number of employees is around 1000 and increasing. There is a real chance for Austrian hoteliers to use the profitable eco-boom in tourism.  Read more

Hotels are engaging in a technological arms race, piling on guest-room gizmos such as TV projectors and iPods outfitted with guests’ favorite songs. Increasingly, though, travelers such as Laura Gibbon are becoming casualties.

Gibbon, of Brighton, England, stayed earlier this month at Hotel Omm, a chic boutique hotel in Barcelona, Spain. Her children, ages 8 and 10, stayed in an adjacent room and wanted to leave their bathroom lights on overnight. But the light switches were so complicated – there was even a manual for them in the room, Gibbon says – it was impossible to discern how to keep the bathroom lights on and the room lights off at the same time. “If you turn one on, they all go on,” she says  Read more

A growing number of city centre hotels are facing up to their environmental and social responsibilities, according to the April edition of greenhotelier. The magazine’s feature ‘City hotels – greening the urban jungle’ examines how city hotels are implementing green strategies at all levels of policy and management, from the initial design of the hotels to their day-to-day operations.  Read more

Continuing its efforts to cut back on owned assets and focus on managed and franchised properties, Hilton Hotels Corp. is selling up to 10 European hotels to a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate for approximately $770 million, the company said in a statement.

Hilton also announced today it completed the sale of the 132-hotel Scandic chain to EQT, a Swedish buyout firm, for approximately $1.1 billion. CPN reported March 2 that the deal was expected to realize net proceeds of approximately $1.04 billion from the sale, which would be used to reduce debt.� Read more

Interstate Hotels & Resorts, one of the nation’s largest independent hotel management companies, today announced that the company has been selected to manage two Holiday Inn hotels in downtown Moscow, Russia: the 301-room Holiday Inn Moscow Lesnaya Hotel and the 312-room Holiday Inn Moscow Suschevsky Hotel. Both properties are owned by Mospromstoi, a major, Moscow-based construction and hotel ownership company.

“These two contracts represent our sixth and seventh hotels in Moscow, where we have established a major management presence, and bring our total number of management contracts in Europe to nine,” said Thomas F. Hewitt, Interstate’s chief executive officer. “We now have six hotels under contracts with Mospromstoi, and we look forward to continuing our relationship.” Read more