Glamping – Is also known as boutique luxury camping גמפלינג היא תופעה בצמיחה גלובלית של מחנאות בוטיק המשלבת קמפינג בלב שמורות טבע עם יוקרה ונוחות של מלון 5 כוכבים, מה שהחל בסאפארי בקנייה ובטנזניה התפשט בשנים האחרונות לאוסטרליה ארצות הברית ואירופה. Glamping: Where Nature Meets Luxury Glamping – Camping at its best Glamping: Its Time Is Coming GREEN TRAVELER | GLAMPING Glamping sparks luxury tent market אתרי גלמפינג בולטים, בעולם: Serengeti Migration Camp - Tanzania Lake Masek Tented Camp - Tanzania Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia FOUR SEASONS TENTED CAMP GOLDEN TRIANGLE - Thailand KARIJINI ECO RETREAT,AUSTRALIA Paperbark Camp Australia PAWS UP - Montana Clayoquot Wilderness Resort - British Columbia Eco-Camp Patagonia

Federal budget would simplify environmental review process

The federal government answered years of oilpatch lobbying Thursday by promising in its budget to streamline environmental review of major industrial projects and impose hard timelines on decisions.

The Northern Gateway export pipeline that would move oilsands bitumen to Kitimat, B.C. will be subject to the changes, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty was quoted by various media as saying in Ottawa, though he and his officials gave no details on how a review long underway could be condensed.

Northern Gateway, embraced by industry but derided by environmental groups, is fast approaching the 24-month fixed timeline for panel reviews mandated by the budget. Enbridge Inc. applied with the federal Joint Review Panel in May 2010 for approval of the 1,200-kilometre pipeline from Bruderheim, Alta., meant to open international markets to rising crude production that's largely landlocked.

Enbridge Northern Gateway spokesman Paul Stanway said the Harper government's socalled one project, one review commitment "makes perfect sense," but declined in an emailed statement to comment in detail, pending forthcoming legislation arising from the budget.

Environmental consultation at risk — activist

Thursday’s federal budget is about favouring business over the environment and keeping Canadians quiet and in the dark on environmental issues, says activist Susanna Fuller.

The budget talks about maintaining the highest environmental standards, but follows immediately with a pledge to make it easier to push natural resource development through faster.

"We will streamline the review process for such projects, according to the following principle: one project, one review, completed in a clearly defined time period. We will ensure that Canada has the infrastructure we need to move our exports to new markets."

The marine co-ordinator for the Ecology Action Centre, Fuller said she believes the streamlining process is about trying to cut down on the amount of public consultation for controversial projects, such as mining and oil operations.

"They don’t like the fact that there’s 4,000 people lined up to speak against the Enbridge pipeline," Fuller said.

Enbridge Inc. plans to pipe crude oil from Alberta’s oilsands to Kitimat, B.C., and ship it from there by supertankers to Asian markets. Federal hearings into the pipeline project began in January in Kitimat. More than 4,300 people and groups have signed up to speak at the hearings.

Fuller said that part of her concern with streamlining the process is the projects cited in that part of the budget. "It’s mining and oil, mining and oil," she said.

China premier: economic environment 'complicated'

BEIJING — China's economic health still faces threats from the halting global recovery, but Beijing has no plans to make major changes to its economic policies, Premier Wen Jiabao said in a report posted on the central government's website Sunday.

China rebounded quickly from the global crisis on the strength of massive stimulus spending and record bank lending. But Communist leaders, who expect Europe's debt crisis to hurt demand for Chinese goods, say the recovery is still vulnerable to a downturn in trade.

"Right now our economic situation is good, but the domestic and international economic environment is very complicated," Wen was quoted as saying in the report.

China must "work to promote stable and relatively fast domestic economic growth, restructure the economy and manage inflation expectations to ensure the government's goals for 2010 are met."

Imagination Creates Ford's Most Engaging Experiential Environment to Date at the 2010 North American International Auto Show

DETROIT, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagination, the global brand communications agency, has created an unprecedented array of hands-on, virtual, and digital experiences to greet visitors to the expansive Ford environment at the North American International Auto Show when it opens to the public on Saturday, January 16.

Visitors who opt to enjoy all of the experiences at the Ford exhibit will find they can spend over three hours learning about the company's outstanding range of vehicles. The experience will continue at home, where visitors can log on to a website to download unique souvenirs they create on the show floor. With the exception of the vehicles, everything visitors see, hear, and experience has been created by Imagination, Ford's global auto show experience partner.

Among the highlights at the show:

* Choreographed assembly line robots will bring Ford's green and innovation stories to life, demonstrating to visitors the precision engineering that ensures Ford EcoBoost engines deliver greater power and consume less gas.
* Visitors can try Ford's "self-parking cars" in person, experiencing how Active Park Assist™ offers faultless parallel parking without a human hand touching the steering wheel.
* The Next-Generation Ford Focus will have its world premiere, and visitors can interact with a range of experiences that demonstrate the new vehicle's outstanding driving dynamics, and animate its techno-talented nature.