The Radar: IT's Weekly Web Reconnaissance

The Radar: week of July 4th

Each week, Intelligent Travel offers up a host of interesting travel tidbits, but even we admit that our cup runneth over when it comes to fascinating facts. So we've compiled a weekly compendium of the things we've found on the web, and share them with you.

North America

-A one-ton cheddar cheese block carved into a "signing of the Declaration of Independence" sculpture is celebrating the Fourth of July in New York's Times Square.

-Archaeologists have more to celebrate this week than Independence Day. Those working at George Washington's childhood home in Virginia have excavated the remains (including some 500,000 artifacts) of the house where the first president was raised. [History & world heritage] 

-The New York Times offers up suggestions to frequent fliers sick of the blackout-date plague. [Air travel news]

-European airlines are banking on a new class of service: premium economy. British Airways-owned OpenSkies, for example, is introducing regular "prem-plus" routes to New York from major European cities. [Air travel news] 

-Orlando, Florida is planning its own version of the London Eye. Called the Great Orlando Wheel, the developers are hoping to establish it as yet another icon in the Orlando area's skyline.  [Global news & trivia]

-Young Americans are drinking copious amounts of wine. [Global trends] 

-Mexican archaeologists are revisiting a cave system underneath the monumental Teotihuacan pyramids, a World Heritage site an hour outside Mexico City. [History & world heritage] 

South America

-The March of the Penguins is slowing down everywhere, from Antarctica to Patagonia, Argentina, as the beloved birds become the tuxedo-clad canary in the coalmine for global warming.  [Environment & wildlife]

-The US ambassador to Paraguay recorded a folk songs album in the local Guaraní language, which has become a hit since its release. Via World Hum. [Global news & trivia]  

Europe

-Denmark, once more, is accorded the honour of being the happiest nation in the world. Perhaps something to consider before attempting to row away to nearby Sweden. [Global news & trivia] 

-Moscow's famous Detsky Mir (Children's World) closed its doors for a $200-million renovation, scheduled to be complete in three years. Preservationists call the closing "the latest step on a march of ill-advised demolition and construction that is turning Moscow into a cheap copy of its former self." [History & world heritage]

-While preservationists may mope in Moscow, the ones in Rostov, within Russia's Golden Ring of medieval cities, are probably swelling with pride. [History & world heritage]

-Starbucks is planning to expand in Europe, particularly Germany, the UK, and France. [Global news & trivia]

-A smoking ban has come into effect in the Netherlands, though patrons of cannabis cafes will still be allowed to smoke marijuana (as long as it's not mixed with tobacco). [Global news & trivia]

-Finland's Aland Islands are attempting to get into the wine business. [Global news & trivia] 

-The BBC website has a click-thru map of how Yugoslavia has splintered into several sovereign nations, including Kosovo, over the years. [Maps]

Asia

-India plans to tap into solar power, to combat climate change. [Global news & trivia]

-Ready for the birds: Beijing's Olympic stadium, aka Bird's Nest, is ready. [Global news & trivia] 

-China is seeing green—but not in a positive way. The BBC reports that algae has invaded an Olympic venue in Qingdao. [Global news & trivia] 

Africa

-The penguins of South Africa's Robben Island have been the subject of a biometrics surveillance technology study. No word on whether they'll be eligible for priority check-in. [Environment & wildlife]

-The BBC reports on the cost of illegal fishing around the world, with case studies on Kenya and Côte D'Ivoire. [Environment & wildlife] 

-A project to grow sugar meant to produce ethanol and generate power along Kenya’s coastal wetlands has environmentalists enraged. [Environment & wildlife]

Oceania

-The United Nations Environment Programme website has a digital version of its "Atlas of Our Changing Environment." It includes before-and-after visuals of affected areas on every continent, such as the urban growth patterns of Sydney, Australia. [Maps]

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