Green round-up 08Aug12
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Environment based news from the travel industry
Giant gardens open in Singapore
A huge new botanical park has opened in Singapore’s fast-expanding Marina Bay area.
The Gardens by the Bay took seven years to develop, and now comprise 54 hectare of manmade botanical gardens, featuring more than 700,000 plants from across the globe.
The main features of the new attraction are the 18 huge ‘super trees’, which range from 25 to 50 metres in height. A key part of these structures is the 128-metre-long aerial canopy walk, 22 metres above ground, which offers views of the gardens and surrounding city. The super trees also collect rainwater and store solar energy. Other sustainable features of the Gardens by the Bay include the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest conservatories, which rely on horticultural waste to generate energy to cool the glass domes, while the Dragon Fly and Kingfisher lakes catch and recycle run-off water. Click here to see more pictures of the Gardens by the Bay. More here
Air Canada operates trans-Atlantic biofuel flight
Air Canada and Airbus have performed a trans-Atlantic flight partially powered by biofuel. The Airbus A330, which flew from Montreal to London last week carrying a number of Canadian athletes to the Olympics, was powered by a 50-50 mix of regular jet fuel and biofuel derived from recycled cooking oil. This fuel, along with implementation of more efficient pre-flight, taxi, takeoff and flight techniques, reduced total emissions by approximately 10%.
“Like the sports stars onboard, we too have goals. More than 90% of Airbus research and technology is directed at setting new records in environmental performance, speeding up sustainable alternative fuel production and keeping the world connected,” said the Airbus’ Vice President of Environmental Affairs, Andrea Debbané. More here
InterCon Bali helps local charity become self-sufficient
The InterContinental Bali Resort working with local charity, Bali Life, and supporting its efforts to become more self-sufficient. The luxury resort recently secured a small piece of land for the foundation, and donated three cows and five ducks to help get the sustainability project underway. A group of resort staff has also planted mango trees on the land.
Bali Life helps disadvantaged children aged from 5 to 15 years, and the establishment of this small farm is providing the children of Bali Life with valuable new skills and a useful activity. Helping Bali Life is [art of the resort’s broader CSR policy.
