Travel Health & Environment Watch.

Apr 7, 2008

Air Transport Association President James May testified that the group's members have committed to an additional 30% fuel efficiency improvement by 2025 and that the industry is dedicated to developing an alternative to jet fuel. He said efforts to replace the nation's outdated air traffic control system need support from lawmakers. Airlines also told lawmakers that federal funding for research and development has been slashed by about 50% in the past 8-10 years and requested congressional support to help fund programs aimed at cutting carbon emissions. Apr 4, 2008

Carriers commit to further reduce emissions. Air Transport Association President James May testified that the group's members have committed to an additional 30% fuel efficiency improvement by 2025 and that the industry is dedicated to developing an alternative to jet fuel. He said efforts to replace the nation's outdated air traffic control system need support from lawmakers. Airlines also told lawmakers that federal funding for research and development has been slashed by about 50% in the past 8-10 years and requested congressional support to help fund programs aimed at cutting carbon emissions. Apr 4, 2008

Gluten Free Travel launched a website focused on helping people with Celiac - and others following gluten-free diets - locate hotels, resorts, and restaurants around the world that accommodate their special diets. As more people get diagnosed with Celiac Disease every day and awareness grows, an increasing number of hotels, resorts, and restaurants are realizing this is a niche market they can't ignore. As a result, they are developing special programs and menus to cater to this growing market. For more information, visit www.glutenfreetravelsite.com Apr 4, 2008

Water's benefits questioned by scientists. Six years ago, scientists trashed the "eight glasses of water a day" dictum, a standard that, as far as anyone can tell, magically appeared from nowhere. Now, there's no reason to lug around water bottles if you don't want to, because there's not much evidence showing that drinking "lots" of water will improve our health, according to the editorial "Just Add Water" by University of Pennsylvania researchers in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. That means excessively hydrating won't necessarily clear toxins from your system, keep organs healthy, curb hunger pains, reduce headaches and improve your skin tone, said authors Dan Negoianu and Stanley Goldfarb of Penn's Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension Division. Apr 3, 2008

UK's CAA warns on flyers[sup.1] fitness. A significant rise in the number of UK airlines forced to make emergency diversions due to medical incidents, has led the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to publish a free guide for doctors. In 2007, a total of 514 emergency calls led to 58 diversions - a 26% increase since 2003 - and the CAA says many are caused by passengers who are unfit to fly, or who have not made a medical condition known to their airline before traveling. Increasingly, it is more elderly travelers in need of assistance - 59% of medical diversions in 2006 were caused by passengers who were more than 50 years old. While being particularly dangerous for the individual - it takes time for aircraft to divert to suitable airports for assistance - it also obviously causes huge disruption and cost to the airline and other passengers. The Authority[sup.1]s Aviation Health Unit (AHU) says medical professionals can help prevent such emergencies by carrying out thorough fitness to fly[sup.1] assessments, and where appropriate, provide full details of a passenger[sup.1]s medical condition to a patient[sup.1]s airline. Mar 31, 2008

Boeing

Boeing successfully flies jet powered by hydrogen battery. Earlier this year, Boeing flew a manned plane powered by a hydrogen battery for the first time in history. Company officials noted that hydrogen batteries were unlikely to become the primary source of energy for large planes. They said the company will continue to explore the potential of hydrogen batteries. Apr 3, 2008

ZZ

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