Dear Diary: experienced Transportation Stupidity Agency actions -- again
6:10 a.m. - Left home. Husband dropped me off at Boulder's Walnut Street bus station.
6:19 a.m. - AB bus to Denver International Airport left on time.
7:35 a.m. - AB arrived at DIA a few minutes early
7:37 a.m.- No line at American Airlines check-in. Got boarding passes for Denver-Dallas, Dallas-Mexico City and Mexico City-Huatulco flights. Carry-on only.
7:42 a.m. - No lines at security. Hooray! Took off shoes and jacket. Removed laptop from case. Sent small roll-aboard, laptop case and two bins, one with one-quart plastic bag with small liquids/gels, through Xray. Security screener squinted through clear plastic at small container of contact lens solution, lipstick, small bottle of liquid makeup, small stick of deodorant and small tube of toothpaste and small tube of sunscreen.
7:43 a.m. - Screener removed tube of sunscreen, purchased in some country that is on the metric system, examined it more closely and declared quietly but triumphantly (and ungrammatically). "This is 110 milliliters. Three ounces is 100 milliliters." I didn't know that before, but now I do -- and you do too. You're welcome.
7:44 a.m. - Supervisor confiscated my 110 ML tube of sunscreen that probably had 30 ML of liquid left. He helpfully suggested that I could mail the offending object home if I chose (the post office at the airport, of course, was not yet open) or return to the airline counter and check my bag with the leftover sunscreen in it.
7:45 a.m. - Grabbed my stuff, my previous good mood dampened by Transportation Security Agency nonsense -- again.
7:55 a.m. - Arrived at the gate with enough time to write this post, courtesy of the much-appreciated free WiFi at DIA.
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, don't you feel safer knowing that this agency of the Department of Homeland Security is on the job?
Dear President-Elect Obama......
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
US Airlines Recycle Just 20% of Their Trash
Unhappy ending for the 880 tons of newspapers, aluminum cans, plastic cups and more annually generated by airlines
When flight attendants roam up and down the aisle with large trash bags to collect passengers' discards, I've always wondered whether someone somewhere sorts it, or whether it just ends up in landfills. Responsible Shopper, a consumer watchdog website, has issued a new report cleverly called “What Goes Up Must Go Down: The Sorry State of Recycling in the Airline Industry.”
I wish it had been otherwise, but their disheartening finding is that of the more than 880 million tons of waste that carriers generate annually, only 20 percent is recycled while, the organization says, fully 75 percent could be. Delta, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic and Southwest are doing the best job of recycling and United and US Airways, the worst.
Lookout Landfills, Here It Comes!
According to research published by the Natural Resource Defense Council, airlines annually throw away 9,000 tons of plastic, enough aluminum cans to build 58 Boeing 747 jets, and enough newspaper and magazines to cover a football field some 700 feet deep. The council says that energy savings from recycling this waste "would represent a contribution by the airlines to reducing their environmental impact in the face of the considerable climate impact of jet fuel, including 600 million tons of carbon dioxide per year pumped into the atmosphere by commercial jets alone."
According to the Responsible Shopper report, airlines could recycle nearly 500 million more tons of waste each year (including 250 million tons of in-flight waste) than they do. Furthermore, no airline recycles all the major recyclables: aluminum cans, glass, plastic, and paper, and no airline has a comprehensive program for minimizing or composting food waste or waste from snack packages. It is probably out of embarrassment that no airline provides good public information about their recycling program, or reports out on progress in relation to any stated goals. In addition, the report says, that all airlines provide over-packaged snacks and meals (below), and not one is working with manufacturers to reduce this waste.
It doesn't have to be this way. A lifetime ago, I worked for Swissair in New York. Even then, the carrier had a contract with pig farmers near Zürich to take all the food waste. But then, the Swiss always seem to do things better than most of the rest of the world. When I think of how little flight attendants have to do on most domestic flights in these times of hardly any food service and minimal snack service, it doesn't seem to much to ask them to bring two trash bags down the aisle, one for recyclables and one for landfill-bound trash.
Ranked from best to worst with even the best receiving only a B- grade for current recycling efforts and future plans:
Green America and Responsible Shopper have a call to action too. They are asking passengers respectfully ask flight attendants whether materials on their specific flights are being recycled, and go online to report their findings. The recycling report also contains a list of the airlines and their contact information for anyone who wants to contact them directly.
Responsible Shopper's lead researcher, Victoria Kreha, has some advice for passenger wanting to be proactive, "For concerned consumers looking to spend their travel dollars wisely, airline waste may be the ultimate example of ‘what goes up must come down.’ The good news is that airlines are starting to pay attention to recycling; the bad news is that they have a long way to go to improve the situation. Fortunately, airlines can overcome any of the challenges to creating in-flight recycling programs, including employee education and involvement, knowledge of the type of waste produced, and a time- and space-efficient system.”
I'm not about to preach about the environmental benefits of recycling, even though airlines practice pathetically little of it, better waste management has the potential of creating jobs nationwide, since according to Colorado Recycles, recycling creates six times as many jobs as landfilling. High time for airlines to step up to the recycling plate.
When flight attendants roam up and down the aisle with large trash bags to collect passengers' discards, I've always wondered whether someone somewhere sorts it, or whether it just ends up in landfills. Responsible Shopper, a consumer watchdog website, has issued a new report cleverly called “What Goes Up Must Go Down: The Sorry State of Recycling in the Airline Industry.”
I wish it had been otherwise, but their disheartening finding is that of the more than 880 million tons of waste that carriers generate annually, only 20 percent is recycled while, the organization says, fully 75 percent could be. Delta, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic and Southwest are doing the best job of recycling and United and US Airways, the worst.
Lookout Landfills, Here It Comes!
According to research published by the Natural Resource Defense Council, airlines annually throw away 9,000 tons of plastic, enough aluminum cans to build 58 Boeing 747 jets, and enough newspaper and magazines to cover a football field some 700 feet deep. The council says that energy savings from recycling this waste "would represent a contribution by the airlines to reducing their environmental impact in the face of the considerable climate impact of jet fuel, including 600 million tons of carbon dioxide per year pumped into the atmosphere by commercial jets alone."
It doesn't have to be this way. A lifetime ago, I worked for Swissair in New York. Even then, the carrier had a contract with pig farmers near Zürich to take all the food waste. But then, the Swiss always seem to do things better than most of the rest of the world. When I think of how little flight attendants have to do on most domestic flights in these times of hardly any food service and minimal snack service, it doesn't seem to much to ask them to bring two trash bags down the aisle, one for recyclables and one for landfill-bound trash.
The List
Ranked from best to worst with even the best receiving only a B- grade for current recycling efforts and future plans:
- Delta Airlines
- Virgin America
- Virgin Atlantic
- Southwest Airlines
- Continental Airlines
- Jet Blue
- American Airlines
- British Airways (I'm not sure why this British flag carrier is on the list either)
- Air Tran
- United Airlines
- US Airways
Green America and Responsible Shopper have a call to action too. They are asking passengers respectfully ask flight attendants whether materials on their specific flights are being recycled, and go online to report their findings. The recycling report also contains a list of the airlines and their contact information for anyone who wants to contact them directly.
Responsible Shopper's lead researcher, Victoria Kreha, has some advice for passenger wanting to be proactive, "For concerned consumers looking to spend their travel dollars wisely, airline waste may be the ultimate example of ‘what goes up must come down.’ The good news is that airlines are starting to pay attention to recycling; the bad news is that they have a long way to go to improve the situation. Fortunately, airlines can overcome any of the challenges to creating in-flight recycling programs, including employee education and involvement, knowledge of the type of waste produced, and a time- and space-efficient system.”
I'm not about to preach about the environmental benefits of recycling, even though airlines practice pathetically little of it, better waste management has the potential of creating jobs nationwide, since according to Colorado Recycles, recycling creates six times as many jobs as landfilling. High time for airlines to step up to the recycling plate.
Results of Tavel Magazine Readers' Poll on Skiing
Results of Condé Nast Traveler's 13th Annual Ski Poll announced
A ski poll is nothing at all like a ski pole. The former is a travel magazine's annual survey that ranks "the best places to ski and stay in North America" An "unprecented" 32,633 Condé Nast Traveler readers who took part in this year's survey. Frankly, I always take these reader polls with a grain of salt. Big Western resorts always "win" because more people visitthem. The big, fancy hotels generally rank high, not necessarily because everyone who selected them has stayed there, but because many people recognize a name-brand luxury chain and vote for it. The results are interesting nonetheless.
The magazine's press release explained: "Readers were asked to evaluate resort towns on the following criteria: Terrain and Conditions; Lifts and Lines; Town Ambience; Dining; and Après-ski/Activities. The ski hotels were rated based on: Location; Rooms; Service; Dining and Food; and Design. The awards appear in the December issue (on newsstands November 25) and are derived from the Condé Nast Traveler Readers Choice Survey." Whistler Blackcomb, BC, was voted Best Ski Resort Town, with an overall score of 90.7 and top scores in Après-Ski/Activities and Local Dining. Other top scorers in specific categories are:
- Top Terrain: Big White, BC (95.3)
- Top Lifts and Lines: Deer Valley, UT (92.1)
- Top Aprés-ski/Activities: Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (93.2)
- Top Local Dining: Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (90.3)
- Top Local Ambience: Jackson Hole, WY (94.0)
The Top 10 Ski Resorts are the usual suspects:
1. Whistler Blackcomb, BC
2. Telluride, CO
3. Deer Valley, UT
4. Aspen, CO
5. Jackson Hole, WY
6. Sun Valley, ID
7. Vail, CO
8. Beaver Creek, CO
9. Park City, UT
10. Sun Peaks, BC
Ranked as the Best Ski Hotel for 2008 is the Post Hotel & Spa in Lake Louise, AB, with an overall score of 93.3 and the top score for Food (94.9). There's something funny about the Pan Pacific Mountainside leading in three categories but not appearing at all on the overall top-10 list. Make of that what you will. Both are in Whistler/Blackcomb. Other category leaders are:
- Top Location: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (100)
- Top Rooms: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (96.1)
- Top Service: Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, WY (95.1)
- Top Food: Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, AB (94.9)
- Top Design: Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC (96.1)
According to the poll, the Top 10 Ski Hotels overall are as follows:
1. Post Hotel & Spa, Lake Louise, AB
2. Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC
3. Four Seasons Resort, Jackson Hole, WY
4. Stein Eriksen Lodge, Deer Valley, UT
5. Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch, Beaver Creek, CO
6. Four Seasons Resort, Whistler/Blackcomb, BC
7. Little Nell Hotel, Aspen, CO
8. Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, Vail Valley (Edwards), CO
9. Sundance Resort, Sundance, UT
10. St. Regis Resort, Aspen, CO
Monday, January 24, 2011
Vail Names Trail After Lindsey Vonn
Vail has renamed the International Trail and now calls it Lindsey's in honor of Lindsey Vonn's two medals in the just completed 2010 Winter Games. How appropriate, since the run was used to contend the women's speed events during the 1989 and 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships.
And yes, I know that other ski areas have honored other competitors who trained on their slopes. Sun Valley is just the won -- I mean one -- that came to mind when I saw the photo of the new trail sign honoring Vail's big winner during the '10 Games.
Catchy Choice Hotels Commercial from Half a World Away
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Amtrak To Winter Park: All Aboard
Colorado resort teams up with Amtrak to Winter Park to offer Snowball Express package
Winter Park is less than 30 miles west of Boulder, but because there is no road through the Indian Peaks Wilderness and adjacent James Peak Wilderness, the roundabout drive is considerably longer. The one shortcut from near here to right there is by train. The 6-mile-long Moffat Tunnel bores through the mountains under the Continental Divide and under the protected land. The Winter Park Resort lies at tunnel's West Portal. The Ski Train uses the tunnel for its dedicated Denver-Winter Park trip -- and so does Amtrak's California Zephyr. In fact, one of Winter Park's chairlifts is called the Zephyr in honor of the classic rail route.
This year, Winter Resort and Amtrak have partnered to offer an affordable and stress-free vacation package and called it the Snowball Express. It sure beats driving across the Plains, which are vulnerable to dicey snow conditions, and for people put off by airline hassles, it's a terrific option too.
The California Zephyr between Chicago and Oakland offers daily service -- not always punctual, but otherwise reliable. The Snowball Express includes roundtrip coach seats on Amtrak, three nights' lodging in a one-bedroom condo in the Town of Winter Park and three days of lift tickets. Book online through Winter Park Central Reservations or by calling 800-979-0327. The package is valid until the end of the ski season but must be booked by December 7. Adult prices including travel from what organizers call "preferred departure cities" are:
Chicago - $665
Naperville, IL - also $665
Galesburg, IL - $639.50
Burlington, IA - $634
Mt. Pleasant, IA - $628
Ottumwa, IA - $625
Osceola, IA $613
Omaha - $592
Lincoln, NE - $582.50
More Trains to US Ski Country
Other US ski resorts with rail access (though none nearly as doorstep convenient as Winter Park) include:- The North Lake Tahoe resorts via California Zephyr to Truckee
- The seven resorts near Salt Lake City, a major Amtrak station
- The Aspen areas via the Zephyr to Glenwood Springs
- Whitefish Mountain Resort, MT via Amtrak's Empire Builder
- Schweitzer, ID, to the Amtrak stop at Sandpoint
- Several resorts in Vermont and New Hampshire via either Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express to Rutland or the Vermonter, with half-a-dozen stops from Brattleboro in the south to Essex Junction and St. Albans in the north)
- Amtrak's Downeaster to Portland, ME
- Alyeska, AK, via the Alaska Railroad to Girdwood
Canada's VIA Rail services:
- In Quebec, Quebec City for Mont. Ste.-Anne and Le Massif and Montreal (for Tremblant), including trains from New York City/Albany)
- In Alberta, Jasper for Marmot Basin
- In British Columbia, Kamloops for Sun Peaks and Vancouver for Whistler/Blackcomb
And in Europe, virtually every Alpine mountain resort has excellent, efficient, frequent and punctual rail service or at least a bus that connects directly to a nearby railroad station.
New National Monument Designations on the Horizon -- Maybe
Western towns will benefit if sites are federally protected
An internal memo about more than a dozen natural areas considered for possible National Monument designation has surfaced. The areas that the Department of Interior is studying for management and protection by the National Park Service or other federal agency reported are:
An internal memo about more than a dozen natural areas considered for possible National Monument designation has surfaced. The areas that the Department of Interior is studying for management and protection by the National Park Service or other federal agency reported are:
- San Rafael Swell, UT
- Montana's Northern Prairie, MT
- Lesser Prairie Chicken Preserve, NM
- Berryessa Snow Mountains, CA
- Heart of the Great Basin, NV
- Otero Mesa, NM
- Northwest Sonoran Desert, AZ
- Owyhee Desert, OR/NV
- Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, CA (expansion)
- Vermillion Basin, CO
- Bodie Hills, CA
- The Modoc Plateau, CA
- Cedar Mesa, UT
- San Juan Islands, WA
Predictably, two Utah politicians immediately came out in opposition -- just in case the two potential monuments made it even into the official proposal state. Senator Orrin Hatch has already been quoted as threatening do everything in his power to prevent the proposal from moving forward, and Governor Gary Herbert keeps arguing that states should be allowed to manage their own natural resources. Click here for the leaked document that has raised the hackles of these rib-rock Republican aginners.
I suppose Messrs. Hatch and Herbert don't think of the economic benefit that accrue to their state annually from visitors to Utah's magnificent national parks: nearly 1 million Arches, more than 1 million to Bryce Canyon, nearly half a million to Canyonlands, about 600,000 to Capitol Reef and 2,689,840 who visited Zion. And that doesn't include those who visit Monument Valley Tribal Park at the Arizona border and assorted national monuments, federal wildlife preserves and other public lands under federal jurisdiction. Rather than tourist dollars, I suppose Utah's H-team prefers landmarks like the enormous, open-pit Kennecott Copper Mine, the world's largest, just outside of Salt Lake City or uranium mining, even though a tailings pile from a mill near Moab is still leaching into the Colorado River.
The Grand Staircase-Escanlate National Monument in southern Utah was declared and placed under Bureau of Land Management protection under the Clinton Administration, raised howl of indignant protests from the legions of highly placed Utah aginners, including Senator Hatch who called it a "land grab." It it was, the government grabbed 1.9 million acres, including land eyed for coal mining development Andalex Resources, a Dutch company.
Today, regardless of its stance then, the Kane County Chamber of Commerce now boasts: "Near the National Parks you will also find many State Parks and National Monuments, such as Kodachrome Basin State Park, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. With ninety-five percent of county lands administered by State and Federal Agencies, you'll never run out of things to do, or places to go. Drive roads less traveled, and find a place to call your own." Unspoken is" and stay, shop, eat and pump gas in Kanab and other nearby towns. And people who never would have heard of the place without national monument status do just that.
Fingers crossed that the government ignores the likes of Hatch Herbert, creates more federally protected areas -- and provides the funding to manage them well
I suppose Messrs. Hatch and Herbert don't think of the economic benefit that accrue to their state annually from visitors to Utah's magnificent national parks: nearly 1 million Arches, more than 1 million to Bryce Canyon, nearly half a million to Canyonlands, about 600,000 to Capitol Reef and 2,689,840 who visited Zion. And that doesn't include those who visit Monument Valley Tribal Park at the Arizona border and assorted national monuments, federal wildlife preserves and other public lands under federal jurisdiction. Rather than tourist dollars, I suppose Utah's H-team prefers landmarks like the enormous, open-pit Kennecott Copper Mine, the world's largest, just outside of Salt Lake City or uranium mining, even though a tailings pile from a mill near Moab is still leaching into the Colorado River.
The Grand Staircase-Escanlate National Monument in southern Utah was declared and placed under Bureau of Land Management protection under the Clinton Administration, raised howl of indignant protests from the legions of highly placed Utah aginners, including Senator Hatch who called it a "land grab." It it was, the government grabbed 1.9 million acres, including land eyed for coal mining development Andalex Resources, a Dutch company.
Today, regardless of its stance then, the Kane County Chamber of Commerce now boasts: "Near the National Parks you will also find many State Parks and National Monuments, such as Kodachrome Basin State Park, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. With ninety-five percent of county lands administered by State and Federal Agencies, you'll never run out of things to do, or places to go. Drive roads less traveled, and find a place to call your own." Unspoken is" and stay, shop, eat and pump gas in Kanab and other nearby towns. And people who never would have heard of the place without national monument status do just that.
Fingers crossed that the government ignores the likes of Hatch Herbert, creates more federally protected areas -- and provides the funding to manage them well
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