I have been to Paris many times, but there are a few things that I always do because they reinforce what I find so great about the city. I insist on doing a lot of walking, because it is not only a good way to get the feel of Paris, but the exercise and sunlight help ward off jet lag.
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When people ask for travel advice about a place they have never visited, I tell them to take the water tour. Cities in every country in the world grow up around their lakes, rivers, and oceanfronts – so that’s where you will find that city’s identify and history. Norfolk, Virginia is one of those places.
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A goal by Jonathan Bornstein late in extra time (the 95th minute) against Costa Rica sent the US to next year’s World Cup of soccer as CONCACAF champions. The dramatic goal by the US also guaranteed the nation of Honduras a berth in the World Cup for only the second time in that nation’s history. Click the buttom below to hear the play-by-play description on Honduran radio as the “Estados Unidos” score the equalizing goal against Costa Rica with only ten men on the field.
(In a related note, a jubilant Honduran president has invited Bornstein to come visit the Central American country.)
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I like Toulouse, a medium sized city in the south of France. It is the headquarters of passenger jet manufacturer Airbus, which employs about 20 thousand people. With a wide variety of restaurants, Toulouse is an enjoyable place to visit.
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The European Meteorological Society conference is taking place in Toulouse, in southern France. The EMS gave Danny Roup from Israel its Broadcaster of the Year award, and he told a remarkable story.
In Israel (like most of Europe), the nighttime weather forecasts are videotaped during the daytime for playback on the air later. In the case of Israel, Danny says he has actually taped two identical weathercasts. In one, he is smiling and in a happy mood. In the other, he acts more somber, with no joy in his voice. That night, the control room airs whichever is most appropriate – the sad one if there has been tragic news occurring at the time, or the happy weathercast if there is not. He says that quite often, they end up airing the sad version because there is frequently bad news to report in Israel.
Here is a look at what it is like at the EMS conference.
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It’s back across the pond for a conference in France. Toulose is located near the Pyrenees mountains, somewhat close to the Spanish border. Every time I come here, it has been cloudy. We shall see about this time.
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I’m not really a frequent flier anymore, but I travel enough to believe the merger of Northwest and Delta will be the death of small-market air service.
My airport, in Sioux Falls, was always Northwest-dominated, feeding into the airline’s main hub in Minneapolis. Delta and United also served Sioux Falls, acting as quasi-competitors. But now that Northwest and Delta are one, there is barely any competition in Sioux Falls.
I just had my first real experience with this, trying to book a one-way fare to Norfolk, Virginia for a Saturday in October. I didn’t expect it would be difficult to find a decent price, since I am pretty flexible in my travel plans, and was booking for a weekend over a month away. I have been shopping all of the travel websites to see what I could find. I have kept track of the fares for a couple weeks, and have truly been shocked by what I have been seeing.
Here is what I found on Orbitz.com, and the other travel sites are very similar. The least expensive one-stop fare for a one-way ticket out of Sioux Falls on a Saturday is $737 plus taxes? Really? The only conclusion I can reach is that Northwest and Delta are gouging Sioux Falls. I prefer to fly from my home airport, and I am willing to pay a little extra to do so. But this is ridiculous.
I then researched fares for the same flight out of Omaha, a three hour drive from here. I know that Southwest Airlines (which is not included in Orbitz listings) has routes into Omaha, and have always heard its influence is profound. Judging by what I see, I totally agree.
I checked the Southwest website to confirm what I suspected. Southwest’s price for the same route on the same day is so low that Northwest/Delta matches it, seemingly for competitive reasons.
Actually, the final price is not the same. I need to check two pieces of luggage, a simple act that would cost me 40 dollars in fees from Northwest/Delta. Two pieces of luggage are free on Southwest, so you can guess which airline I booked, even though it means a three hour drive to Omaha just to get on a plane.
One would expect more and more travelers will make the pilgrimage down I-29 to use the Omaha airport instead of Sioux Falls. As a former Northwest silver elite frequent flier based in Sioux Falls, I am sad to see it happen. But the new, merged, more expensive airline is forcing travelers to do it.
Postscript: Rather than booking a one-way ticket, I found it is more “affordable” to buy a roundtrip ticket from Sioux Falls-Norfolk for $497. But the point stands – even that is three hundred dollars higher than driving to Omaha – and that’s before you factor in the checked luggage fees.
We were all gathered in Geneva, Switzerland. Three thousand important people – and me.
The World Climate Conference (called WCC-3, because it was the third such gathering) brought together prominent scientists and global policymakers. The conference was held to discuss what is now called “climate change and variability,” to create the basis for the Copenhagen treaty talks scheduled for December. My role was small, as a panelist in the expert segment on communicating climate information. So I was able to spend time observing and learning.
It was a fascinating process, as one might imagine, being on the inside of what will be a global debate in the next few months. For instance, we heard from the man who will be one of China’s negotiators in Copenhagen, where a Kyoto-like treaty will be hammered out. He suggested that the world should adhere to Kyoto, which the United States opposed, in part, because it gave China and other “developing countries” something of a pass from carbon emission regulations. He also insisted China (which is now the world’s biggest C02 producer) is entitled to a break because of its sizable population, and low, $2400 annual income. But – and I thought there was a bit of news in this statement – he also said he had made eight trips to the US in recent months to talk.
During my presentation, I showed some polling data regarding Americans’ views on the cause of climate change (manmade vs. natural causes), and showed how those views have evolved in the past year.
I also talked about the way climate information races around the internet. Not even those who study climate change and variability can keep up with it all. I put a live Twitter search up on the big screen, so everyone was able to see how often Americans tweet the words “climate change” and “global warming” along with scientific information and personal opinion.
I displayed a graph revealing those terms were tweeted over 17,000 times in the previous month.
I have been to many international conferences over the years, but this one was special because the results of the World Climate Conference will form the basis for treaty talks that will affect most people on the planet. I consider myself very fortunate to be invited WCC-3, and to spend time with my weather colleagues in the great city of Geneva.
Photos are from IISD. Information about the conference is available through the WCC-3 website.
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