One of the coolest special effects in X-Men: Days of Future Past was the Quicksilver “frozen time” effect where the character is moving so quickly that everything around him seems to move in super slow-motion. In this video, director Bryan Singer explains how they achieved the effect.
He’s going down the mountain road so fast that it looks like he’s about to hit warp drive or something. I mean, damn. It seems like one little pebble on the road or one little shift in the wrong direction and he’d be catapulted off the side of the road. But he manages to hang on at ridiculous speeds.
Everyone has different ideas on what the perfect search-and-rescue robot is, and for a University of Pennsylvania Mod Lab team, it comes in the form of a snake drone-quadcopter chimera. The Hybrid Exploration Robot for Air and Land Deployment or…
Fall has just begun and voters are already casting ballots in key states holding U.S. Senate races that will likely determine which party will be the Senate majority. So far, at least 18,000 people have already cast mail ballots as of Friday, September 26, 38 days out from Election Day on November 4.
Election officials in these states release early voting data that provide clues as to which party currently has an edge. (I track these statistics here.) The $60 million voter mobilization “Bannock Street project” is a key component of the DSCC’s strategy to expand the electorate just enough in the most closely contested states to lift the Democrats’ candidates over the top. The fingerprints of these efforts can be seen in these data, as well.
The DSCC’s investment appears to be paying off. There are signs Republicans are not going to cede early voting, but their efforts are being swamped by the Democrats’ mobilization drives.
Two states are currently and publicly providing robust early voting data, Iowa and North Carolina. More states will release statistics as Election Day nears. Iowa and North Carolina report party registration of those requesting and returning mail ballots. North Carolina, which is very transparent, provides a wealth of individual level data that allows a deep dive into the data.
Although statistics on the returned ballots is interesting, at this stage in the game the much larger number of requested ballots is more relevant. Although some of these requested ballots will not be returned or will be rejected by election officials, the overwhelming majority will be counted. The requested ballot statistics thus provide a forecast of where the early vote is going in the coming weeks, and are what I will focus on.
In all of 2010 in Iowa 349,219 mail ballots were counted. More than a month from the election, already 145,890 voters have requested ballots. An average of more than 8,000 new mail ballot requests were made each day this week (of the four days of new reports). At this pace — which typically only increases as November nears — either Iowa will set a record for the share of early voting in a midterm election or Election Day turnout will very high. I would not be surprised if both come to pass given the intense interest in the Braley (D) – Ernst (R) Senate matchup.
Democrats have a commanding lead among Iowa’s mail ballot requests. Registered Democrats comprise 52.6% of Iowans who have requested ballots so far, while Republicans compose only 26.7%. In 2010, Democrats were 43.7% compared to 38.0% for Republicans among all ballots cast. For Republicans to match their 2010 performance, moving forward they need to have 46% of all new ballot requests compared to 37% for the Democrats. This assumes the same absolute number of early voters as in 2010; if its higher their challenge will be greater. Republicans need to kick it up into high gear. After a strong start out of the gate for Republicans compared to the start of 2010 — perhaps driven by mobilization during the primary — Democrats have dominated the 33,712 new ballot requests this week: 56.1% to 23.3%.
While this is good news for Braley, it is instructive to remember that even in 2004, Kerry won the early vote but lost the state. In 2010, incumbent Sen. Grassley cruised to victory despite the Democratic advantage in the early vote. Much is different about the candidates in 2014 compared to 2010, but if the past is a guide, Democrats are going to need all these early votes if they are to overcome the surge of Republicans who will vote on Election Day.
NC’s mail ballots counted (2010) & requests (2014), by party registration
In North Carolina, the number of mail ballots is much smaller. Usually, the early vote is dominated by in-person early voting. In 2010, over 90% of early votes were cast in-person. For this election, the Republican state government — led in part by North Carolina House Speaker Tillis who is now a U.S. Senate candidate — overhauled North Carolina’s voting laws. Among the changes affecting early voting, the number of early voting days is reduced, but the number of hours is just slightly less, such that there is more weeknight and weekend access. North Carolina’s unique “one-stop” registration and voting during the in-person early voting period is scrapped. Of the two changes, I believe the latter will have a greater depressive effect on turnout.
When Florida reduced early voting hours in 2012 (since restored), Democrats changed their behavior by casting mail ballots. Republicans had about a 14 point edge in Florida mail ballots in 2008, but had only a 4 point advantage in 2012. At least some of this change in behavior was due to the Obama campaign encouraging their supporters to cast a mail ballot.
It appears something similar to Florida is happening in North Carolina. Typically, registered Republicans lead the mail ballots; in 2010 they led ballot counted 45.4% to 35.7%. This year is topsy-turvy, with Democrats leading mail ballot requests 41.4% to 35.0%. Their lead is persisting in the daily ballot request updates. Once in-person early voting opens on October 23, we’ll have a better sense how much Democrats are going to need these banked mail votes.
North Carolina’s wealth of data provides an opportunity to peek under the hood of the DSCC’s voter mobilization efforts. The key support target any campaign wishes to encourage to vote is not high propensity voters; they will take care of themselves. It’s mobilizing moderate and low propensity voters that is a key to winning elections. The fruits of these efforts can be measured by examining those North Carolina voters with and without a record of voting in the 2010 general election. Those without are the gold campaigns are mining for.
Among the 9,981 who requested ballots and voted in the 2010 election, registered Democrats are 41.4% to Republicans 38.0%. Among the 5,558 without, Democrats are 41.6% to 29.7%. Logically, the difference among Republicans must be among those without a party, who were 20.5% of those who voted in 2010 and 28.0% of those who did not. Republicans are doing a bit worse among the persons who did not vote in 2010. So, so far it appears that Democrats have banked a good number of votes among people who would have voted anyway, and are seeing some modest success with mobilizing lower-propensity voters. We’ll have to see if this will be enough for Hagan to prevail over Tillis.
The early voting period has just begun. In North Carolina, perhaps the early vote confirms that Hagan indeed has a narrow lead over Tillis in the polls; the signal is in the same direction. The intense voter mobilization underway in Iowa may mean high turnout. Pollsters don’t typically report their expected turnout, but any number of polls are showing Democratic candidates doing better among registered voters than likely voters. The higher the turnout, the more the electorate will look like profile of registered voters, which could be decisive for who wins Iowa and Senate control.
What is it like to make a financial investment in an up and coming social change leader, every single day of the year? Since January 1, 2013, through my work at the Pollination Project, I’ve been giving daily micro grants to emerging projects and inspiring people all over the world. Now over 40 people have joined me, each of them giving at least $1 every day to our awe-inspiring grantees.
Here are the extraordinary people and projects that our Daily Giving Community is honored to support this week.
Teaching Emotional Intelligence to Girls in Chicago. Vanessa and Christina Douyon, former K-12 teachers in Chicago, Illinois, learned that emotional intelligence is the single largest predictor of future financial success. They began to focus on something outside of traditional academics–the ability for students to manage their emotions. The Moxie Leadership Academy is a 6 week summer learning lab where participating girls develop the emotional intelligence and academic skills essential for long-term success. The Moxie team of teachers, MBA and PhD candidates, will expose girls to rigorous math and science content and teach them how to lead self-directed social action projects.
Gender Equality in Sierra Leone. Safiatu Farma explains that women form 52% of the total population of Sierra Leone, but are not considered in most decision making, including policy making for national and rural development. “Women support their men to mine sand or bring to town wood from the forest to sell,” Safiatu says, “but the proceeds of these activities never benefit the women, even with the fact that they contribute 50% in these activities.” The aim of Safiatu’s project is to create a livelihood and voice for women by teaching them about rice cultivation and production. Safiatu’s project will work with forty women to cultivate five acres of rice in a way that simultaneously protects the environment while promoting social and economic growth among women.
Vegan College Students in Iowa. Sarina Farb is a student activist at Grinnell College in Iowa. She is part of Grinnellians Advancing Animal CompassionTogether (AACT), a group dedicated to creating a more just and sustainable world for all sentient beings through vegan outreach and activism. The group educates students by hosting events and awareness campaigns to address the environmental, social justice, public health, and ethical concerns surrounding the use of animals in modern society.
Giving Orphans Tools to Thrive in Uganda. After his parents passed away, Fred Moses Muhumuza benefited greatly from the Kyema Mustard Seed project, located in Masindi, Uganda. Because of this support, Fred became a well-educated health professional. Now he is Chairperson of the Kyema Mustard Seed Young Adults (KMSYA) Project, a new generation of the work. Graduated beneficiaries from the original Kyema Mustard Seed project, like Fred, are working to create a society where orphans can afford an education. The new KMSYA Project is looking to create sustainable sources of income. Their plan is to rent out plastic chairs for social functions, which is a very needed business in their community. This creative small business will help build the foundation of financial support for KMSYA for years to come.
Planting Trees in Uganda. Jennifer Burges currently serves as a Peace Corps volunteer at Nzrambi Orphans Talent Development Centre, in Kasese, Western Uganda. Through Fruit For Thought, Jennifer and volunteers will engage over 100 local orphans in fruit tree planting while educating them on nutrition and the importance of environmental sustainability. In this region, the community is lucky to have incredibly fertile soil. Despite the ability to grow practically anything, they have one of the highest rates of malnutrition in Uganda. Fruit For Thought aims to plant 200 fruit trees and 1000 trees of other species. “I want to promote the protection of our environment while encouraging these vulnerable youth to better their health by eating more fruits and vegetables,” said Jennifer.
Supporting Migrant Youth in Thailand. Mykell Winterowd and the Fortune Community Center serves the needs of local Shan community members in the Wiang Wai Village of Northern Thailand. The organization, founded by and for the local Shan community, is looking to add an after school project that will create a safe place for Shan youth to gather, learn social and life skills and receive assistance with their homework. Many of these children are from migrant families, and do not have the Thai language skills they need to be successful in the Thai school system. “We anticipate that with a well-developed program, these young people will benefit with life skills training, Thai and Shan Language, as well as English teaching, and they will begin to develop their own sense of responsibility for their community,” said Mykell.
Creating Dirt in New Mexico. Farmer Chad Belvill, a life-long student of soil, farming, gardening, foraging, and entrepreneurship, started Brio Soil and Compost . In the Taos, New Mexico area there is a strong commitment to environmental sustainability and also concern over local retailers supplying bagged soil that has been shipped in from great distance, at great expense of both dollars and fuel consumption, while thousands of cubic yards of compostable material go to waste. Brio Soil and Compost manages and composts food and agricultural waste materials. We gave them a zero interest Pay it Forward loan to be used towards the purchase of equipment. Brio Soil and Compost will then re-pay this loan by funding another Pollination Project grantee.
Congratulations to our grantees this week for their outstanding work to bring justice, peace, health and compassion to their communities. These are just a few examples of what a little seed money can do when put in the hands of someone with a vision and a plan to change the world.
Want to be part of the joy of giving? Join our Daily Giving Community, or simply create your own giving practice. It will change your life!
Are you our next grantee? Please go to our website at www.thepollinationproject.org for funding guidelines and application.
The following contains some spoilers about “Gone Girl.”
David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” kicked off the 52nd annual New York Film Festival on Friday night with a lot of fanfare and a surfeit of positive reactions on Twitter. Starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike as Nick and Amy Dunne, a married couple hiding secrets and lies from each other and themselves, “Gone Girl” is a thrilling combination of pulpy noir tropes and wicked black comedy. Affleck and Pike are powerhouses onscreen, and the film’s supporting cast (especially Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens and Neil Patrick Harris) are exceptional as well. In short, this is one of the year’s truly great films, a conversation starter that doubles as perfect Friday night entertainment. Following the film’s premiere press screening, Fincher, Affleck, Pike, Perry, Harris and author and screenwriter Gillian Flynn participated in a press conference about their feature. Highlights from the 30-minute Q&A session are below.
1. Don’t Expect To See Everything You Loved In The Book Onscreen
During the last nine months, much of the discussion around “Gone Girl” focused on its ending.
In January, Flynn (pictured above) told Entertainment Weekly that things were tweaked and Affleck was “shocked” by the screenplay. “He would say, ‘This is a whole new third act!'” Flynn recalled.
Flynn later walked back those comments, and early reviews confirmed that the book’s ending was retained for the feature film. Which isn’t to say the “Gone Girl” denouement matches the final pages of the novel beat for beat. Flynn lost some key plot turns in the transition to screen, leading to a more streamlined conclusion that still manages to retain the book’s true intentions.
“For me, I realized the important thing was to not be slavishly devoted to exactly every plot line, but to ultimately make sure it felt like the book,” Flynn said during the press conference. “I was very concerned with [keeping] the tone and the dark heart of it and to not turn it into a whodunit.”
Added Affleck: “What was very interesting was the book asked very hard questions about marriage and relationships. It didn’t want to gloss over what we don’t like to look at in others and ourselves. Sometimes you find out ugly things when you ask hard questions. That’s why they’re hard. […] We wanted to give truth to Gillian’s really dark look at marriage and David’s subversive take on the dark look at marriage.”
2. But Nick & Amy’s Cat Actually Has Some Important Significance
Characters such as Nick’s parents are short-changed in the film version of “Gone Girl,” but not the Dunne’s cat. The house pet watches silently as the couple’s marriage collapses in on itself.
“There’s a screenplay book called ‘Save the Cat.’ It’s all about making your character likable,” Flynn said. “In the first 10 minutes he should do something that makes you like him. I enjoyed that in the first 10 minutes he literally saves the cat.”
“And yet you still don’t like him,” Affleck was quick to respond.
“I liked him,” Flynn said. “I love that he’s so devoted to his cat.”
Affleck noted that the cat was a tough customer during the five days it was on set (“half-dead” is how he described the animal). But Pike joked that she, or rather Amy, won the cat over by making crepes.
“Which I don’t actually like,” Flynn said about the food preparation scene. “I feel like Amy is playing Cool Girl again at that point by letting him up on the counter.”
3. David Fincher Is “Not Just A Demon”
David Fincher has a reputation for being hard on actors — just ask Jake Gyllenhaal — but Affleck said it was a dream to work with the iconic filmmaker.
“I would have done the phone book with David, so you can imagine my relief when I read ‘Gone Girl’ and it wasn’t just an alphabetical list of names,” Affleck joked to some laughter from the crowd (there should have been more, it was funny). “It had a story and stuff.”
This is the first film Affleck has made with Fincher, but don’t expect it to be the last.
“I would do it again and again and again, a million times,” he said of working with Fincher. “It was a joy. David, despite his reputation, is a very funny and nice guy. Not just a demon. That’s the pull quote.”
4. And His Desire For Many Takes Sounds Really Reasonable
As for Fincher’s notorious reputation for wanting multiple takes from his performers, the director had a perfectly good explanation for what it accomplishes:
I always feel it’s a silly thing to talk about: what you do to actors. I don’t think you ever enter into the shepherding of something that’s this expensive and complicated without letting them know upfront that we’re all doing this together. The pressure on the set is there before the actors show up, so everything is done. There’s no re-lighting within the take. It’s how many bites of apple we give the people who are perfect for the part. To make it more concise, more human, less presentational. I feel like this thing is … inflicted. But we’re doing this together. We have to work as a ballet company. Everyone has to make it sing, and then you can get a lot of data across to the audience in a short period of time.
5. Men & Women View Nick In Different Ways
“Gone Girl” is the kind of divisive movie people will debate about long after it leaves theaters. (This might be the closest we get to “The Wolf of Wall Street” in 2014, at least in terms of discussion and outrage.) According to Affleck, he’s already seen the discourse play out during his press obligations.
“Really what I found is that women and men have a very different reaction to this character,” he said. “Most of the women journalists go, ‘What was it like playing a dick?’ Most of the men just go, ‘… Yeah.'”
6. And Amy Is A Lot More Complicated Than You Might Think
Amy, too, is quite divisive, which is exactly how Flynn hoped she would come across onscreen.
“I see Amy as someone who knows all the tropes. She’s seen the Lifetime movies. She’s not afraid to use that to her will,” Flynn said. “She’s someone who can play any role that she wants, from the Cool Girl who men want to hang around with, to the woman men are afraid of. She’s willing to kind of go there. That was what was at the center of Amy. It’s basically nothing. It’s someone who is made of a bundle of stories pulled together over the years.”
According to Pike, who is given one of the trickiest characters in recent memory and pulls it off with an effortless aplomb, playing Amy was a lot of fun because of her multitudes and femininity.
“She’s alluring, unpalatable, compelling, confounding. All those things. It goes beyond like or dislike. I understand her and like or dislike doesn’t come into it,” Pike said. “I’m really interested in the fact that I don’t think she could have been a man. The way her brain works is purely female.”
Allowing that her comments might be taken by some as negative, Pike added that most “strong female characters” in movies are either given the qualities of a man or are prone to using sex to get their way.
“Amy can do that, but it’s not her modus operandi to use sex,” Pike said. “It’s just one of the things she can try on.”
“Basically, she’s having it all,” Flynn added. “She’s a modern woman. Lean in.”
7. Rosamund Pike Doesn’t Want David Fincher To See Her New Movie
“Gone Girl” isn’t the only movie Rosamund Pike has in theaters this fall. She also stars with David Tennant in “What We Did On Our Holiday.” Not that the actress wants Fincher to know.
“The other day I was in London seeing the premiere of a film I did right before this,” Pike said. (“What We Did On Our Holiday” had its U.K. premiere on Sept. 22.) “I watched it thinking, ‘Oh, God David would hate that. David would have absolutely whipped that out of me.’ I think you have pre- and post-Fincher in your work.”
8. And It’s A Good Thing She Doesn’t Have Any Siblings
Amy Elliott is an only child in “Gone Girl,” and it’s a trait Fincher realized was key to his casting process. Fortunately, Pike fit the description.
“It’s this hermetically sealed socialization,” Fincher said about why it was so important for the actress and character to share the same familial structure. “It’s just a different thing.”
Added Pike: “Weird kid.”
Countered Fincher: “No. Just off.”
9. Finally, In An Alternate Universe, This Could Have Been Ben Affleck’s “Gone Girl”
When asked why he cast Ben Affleck to play Nicke Dunne, Fincher joked it was because the actor “was available.” Except not really: As Fincher noted, Affleck had to “shut down his movie at Warner Bros. and send all the people he had hired home.” That film was “Live By Night,” and Affleck is set to direct it for Warner Bros. following his stint as Batman.
It turns out, however, that Affleck could have directed “Gone Girl” too. “He had already read the book because, I guess he didn’t want to tell me, but Fox maybe offered it to him,” Fincher revealed during the press conference.
In the end, neither that possible offer nor “Live By Night” made a difference when it come to hiring Affleck. Said Fincher: “Just because it’s perfect casting, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”
“Gone Girl” opens nationwide on Oct. 3.
RUSSELL CONTRERAS, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A northern New Mexico sheriff who has fought off accusations of misconduct throughout his career was convicted Friday of abusing a driver during a bizarre traffic stop that prosecutors called a fit of road rage.
Rio Arriba County Sheriff Thomas Rodella, sitting in the defendant’s chair rather than on the side of the law, and his family were visibly upset when jurors convicted him of pulling his gun on a driver and violating the 26-year-old’s civil rights. His wife, state Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Espanola, sobbed after the verdict was read.
Rodella, one of the most powerful political figures in the state, now faces up to 17 years in prison. His sentencing date hasn’t yet been determined.
“We take little pleasure in today’s guilty verdict,” said U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez, explaining that his office believes the vast majority of law enforcement officers are good public servants.
“It’s a sad day when an officer is found guilty of something like this, as serious as this,” Martinez said.
Driving his personal SUV and wearing street clothes, Rodella followed Michael Tafoya, pulled a gun on him and struck him in the face with his badge, authorities said.
Tafoya said the March encounter began when he turned onto a street in front of Rodella, and the two men gave each other the middle finger. Rodella, whose son was in the passenger seat, began to follow closely, Tafoya said.
When they reached a dead end, the sheriff jumped out holding his gun, dragged Tafoya into the street and struck him in the face with his badge, prosecutors said.
“I said, ‘Please, don’t kill me,’ ” Tafoya testified.
“It’s too late. It’s too late,” Rodella replied, according to Tafoya.
Throughout the case, defense lawyers tried to portray Tafoya as a reckless driver whom Rodella was merely trying to stop in the interest of public safety. They also argued the case was largely based on a dispute with the U.S. attorney’s office over U.S. Forest Service patrols in northern New Mexico.
Martinez denied that accusation.
Defense lawyers declined to comment as they left the courthouse.
It wasn’t the first time Rodella has been accused of misconduct. Two other drivers testified that they had similar encounters with Rodella, although no federal charges were filed in either case. Prosecutors said the cases were presented to show a pattern of abuse.
Last year, the FBI searched the sheriff’s office to investigate whether his staff accepted donations to a scholarship fund and then looked the other way on donors’ traffic offenses. Rodella said the program helped students and denied any wrongdoing. No charges were ever filed.
Two years before being elected sheriff in 2010, Rodella was ousted as a magistrate judge by the state Supreme Court for several alleged infractions, including promising to rule in favor of campaign supporters during a rent dispute. The court barred him from running again for judicial office.
He had been appointed as a magistrate in 2005 by Gov. Bill Richardson, but resigned a few months later amid criticism — and pressure from Richardson — after news of his disciplinary problems with the state police became public. Rodella fired back at his critics, saying the governor was aware of his record.
Rodella retired from the state police department on a disability pension in 1995 after 13 years. During his time on the force, Rodella was disciplined for marijuana use, improper use of a weapon, falsifying official reports, abusing sick leave and using his position for personal gain, according to state reports.
State documents also show he was suspended for 30 days for firing at a deer decoy that game officers had set up to catch poachers. Rodella has declined comment on those reports.
As an incumbent in a June primary election, he lost the Democratic nomination for Rio Arriba County sheriff James Lujan by 200 votes. Lujan was a deputy Rodella whom had fired.
Since Rodella’s indictment last month, some elected officials in the rural county have called for his resignation.
Rodella has refused and denied any wrongdoing and said he had no plans to step down. He has asked state police to investigate various allegations of corruption by county officials.
Our sustainable tourism class this week celebrated World Tourism Day with listening to World Tourism day messages, and a good discussion on the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.
USF Patel College of Global Sustainability, Sustainable Tourism Class
Following the reading of the message from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and the video message from Taleb Rifial, Secretary General of the U.N. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
WTD 2014 Official Message by UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai from UNWTO on Vimeo.
We then enjoyed some fair trade coffee and special tourism cake as we discussed the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and its relationship to community development and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Tourism Cake To Celebrate World Tourism Day
The discussion resulted in three important conclusions by the class.
The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism provides an important framework of ethical principles to guide tourism development and operations.
Some of the highlights in the ten articles include:
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is one such NGO with the UNWTO having expertise in the field of tourism and with both the UNTWO & UNEP having permanent seats on the GSTC board.
The GSTC has defined minimum criteria for sustainable tourism and developed a process to recognize other certification programs that meet the minimum GSTC criteria.
The GSTC Criteria are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism. Focusing on social and environmental responsibility, as well as the positive and negative economic and cultural impacts of tourism, the criteria are organized into four topics.
Third party certification is needed for sustainable tourism and the process is a valuable tool for community development. Without a third party certification process the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism risks remaining little more than great principles that are not implemented.
The GSTC criteria provides a framework for responsible community development including criteria contained in the Global Code of Ethics including but not limited to the following requirements:
The above is a partial list of the GSTC criteria shows how the certification process promotes responsible community development within the tourism industry. Unlike a code that some tourism industries might pick and choose which items to adopt in principle and implement in practice, the certification process requires that all items be implemented at the minimal levels with encouragement to do more.
Sustainable Tourism A New Goal For the UN DPI / NGO community.
In order for the GSTC certification to be fully utilized as a tool for sustainable tourism, increased demand for tourism businesses to meet the GSTC criteria needs to occur.
A major step was taken last month at the UN DPI / NGO conference 2015 & Beyond
At this UN conference a sustainable tourism workshop moderated by Richard Jordan was held with presentations on the GSTC by Randy Durband, CEO of the GSTC, Dr. Kelly Bricker who presented on examples of tourism used to assist community development and alleviate poverty, Dr. David Randle who presented a case study of the Walt Disney Company as a model for sustainable tourism
Following the workshop new goals related to sustainable tourism were adopted. Some of the highlights include:
Read the full story of: How Sustainable Tourism Is Becoming a New ‘Mega-Goal’ at the 65th Annual United Nations DPI/NGO Conference.
A community that implements these new goals and encourages and collaborates with its tourism businesses to receive certification that meets the criteria of the GSTC criteria will take a major step forward for toward positive community development. In the process they are also likely to significantly improve their economy as well.
Below as an example is a summary of sustainability goals set by the Walt Disney Company in 2008 based on 2006 baseline data. As you review these goals, imagine if every sustainable tourism destination adopted similar goals and targets the positive impact this would have on community development.
Environmental Long Term Goals
Medium – Term Targets
Waste
Climate & Energy
Ecosystems
This World Tourism Day, lets commit to making the Global Code of Ethics for tourism a guide for our tourism development and operations.
This World Tourism Day, lets commit to encourage tourism to adopt the new UN DPI / NGO goals related to sustainable tourism and become certified meeting the GSTC standards.
This World Tourism Day let’s encourage our tourism hotels and tour operators as well as our larger tourism destinations become involved in positive community development and become leaders in our community for achieving the new UN sustainability goals currently being developed.
The USF Patel College of Global Sustainability Sustainable Tourism class wishes you a Happy World Tourism Day!
Dr David W. Randle – Director USF Patel College of Global Sustainability Sustainable Tourism, Managing Director International Ocean Institute Waves of Change Blue Community Initiative, and President & CEO WHALE Center.
Follow David Randle on Twitter
If the entity known as “God” is not a figment of our collective imagination—product of our desire to find solace from the nonsense that is life—he actually did a pretty horrible job. Maybe things would have been a lot different if he left everything to the little girl in this short animated film.
Come on, science. There’s not much we ask of you: unlimited power, teleportation, invisibility cloaks. I get that the first few might be a little troubling, but really, you should be able to get a grip on something a bunch of high-school students can do in a Scottish castle. Which is why I’m not really that excited to see a demonstration of a new ‘invisibility cloak’ that hides tiny things when used at exactly the right angle.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
