Matador Network's Blog, page 574
September 24, 2021
Soon travelers to Europe will only need one power chord for all their devices
What if you found out that on your next trip to Europe, you would only need one power chord for all your devices? Separate bags of charger chords and the hassle of trying to find an iPhone charger will be nonexistent.
On Thursday, the European Union announced that it would force all manufacturers to use the same phone charger, which means Apple users will soon use USB-C or whichever standard charger the regulators decide to use.
According to the AFP, The European Commission released an 18-page directive that stated this new legislation would reduce waste and save EU consumers millions of dollars a year.
The chargers used are often varied according to the manufacturer and model, and more than 30 different types of chargers were on the market in the EU. Apart from causing inconvenience to the consumer, this created unnecessary electronic waste,” said EC research in a statement.
According to Vice, Apple has fought against this act for years and was upset with the legislative move. Apple also believes that this legislation would put significant worry on the industry and also cause more pollution.
“We gave industry plenty of time to come up with their own solutions, now time is ripe for legislative action for a common charger,” said EU executive vice president Margrethe Vestager in a statement.
So what do you think of the EU’s new legislation? 
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Which US airline is more likely to lose or damage your luggage?
Everyone knows the hassle and frustration when it comes to airports losing or mishandling luggage. No one wants to go through the process of finding lost or stolen luggage. And watching your sad, cracked-open suitcase move along the baggage claim belt, is nothing short of a nightmare. (Although, seeing raw chicken on the belt might be equally as scary.) The good news is that we’ve got a list of which US airlines you can trust with your luggage and which you’d be taking a gamble with.
According to Luggage Hero, 690,000 bags were lost or mishandled in the year’s first half. Luggage Hero collected data from 17 airlines and examined their luggage performance based on the US Department of Transportation’s numbers about Mishandled Baggage in Air Travel Consumer Reports from January 2021 to June 2021.
At the top, ranking for the third year in a row is Allegiant Air. Envoy Air seems to be the worst airline to handle luggage. Take a look at all the airports in between before you book your next flight.
Photo: Luggage Hero
This year a person’s bag had a 0.4 percent chance of being mishandled which is lower than last year, topping at a 1.1 percent chance, according to Luggage Hero.
Overall, lost or damaged luggage doesn’t happen often, but travelers should always report it to the airline or file a claim.
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This food-tech startup is rewriting the narrative of plant-based food — with kelp
This is The Climate Win, the most positive sustainability news around the world every week.
Veggie burgers have come a long way in recent years. But in this week’s Climate Win we take a look at a veggie burger that takes good taste, health, and sustainability to the next level. Akua, a New York City startup, is among the most forward-thinking food tech startups in the world due to one groundbreaking technique: it produces its product without the use of any freshwater. Currently available only via the company’s website, Akua will debut its kelp burger on New York shelves this fall with west coast markets to follow.
Akua was founded by journalist-turned-serial-entrepreneur Courtney Boyd Meyers, who spoke with me about the concept of growing healthy food that actually benefits the environment in which it’s grown. Ocean-farmed kelp supports healthy ocean habitats. It’s also surprisingly delicious, Meyers said.
“I wanted to start a food company that created products that are actually healthy for you,” Meyers says. “My health journey started in my teens. I became completely vegetarian. And when the awareness of the serious problem of climate change grew, it became apparent that if we don’t radically change our food systems, we’re screwed.”
Meyer’s life was changed when a friend took her to a kelp farm. It was then that the concept for Akua was born. Kelp presented the perfect opportunity to grow a nutrient-rich, dense food that could be produced at scale and entirely free of chemicals, fertilizers, and any non-natural input.
Akua started out producing kelp jerky, a sustainable snack perfect for travel and outdoor pursuits. 2021 saw the launch of the kelp burger. Not quite as fit for travel, at least not until it’s found on restaurant menus. But still a functional way to satisfy the craving for a burger without the eco-guilt that comes with satisfying it.
“All of the breakthroughs we’re seeing in going plant-based, with creating cellular meat at scale, are really important,” Meyers says. “And the last place I see innovation happening is on the agricultural level.”
That’s where Akua comes in. The “everyone should be vegetarian for the planet” argument is not going to convince everyone, and is not necessarily accurate. Small-scale organic farmers of many stripes — including those raising livestock — are doing wonderful things for food systems the world over, as my acquaintance and sometimes colleague Katy Severson reported in this phenomenal piece.
But the fact is that the vast majority of livestock is not raised this way, and livestock emissions account for 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. For comparison, air transport — a common victim of environmental shaming — accounts for 2.5 percent of global emissions.
Meyers set out to provide a solution that’s more sustainable to produce and package than soy or large-scale meat. She also wanted to create a snack — the kelp jerky — that is free of the additives and sodium in common grab-and-go snacks. Travelers can order a 12-pack of kelp burgers via the company’s website for $49.99 and have it shipped to their home or to where they’re headed. Akua’s kelp jerky comes in bundles as few as three for $22.99.
The company plans to debut its kelp burger in restaurants and stores both in Western and Asian markets in the coming years. “Ground” versions of the kelp are coming in the near future, allowing eaters to form their own burgers and add extra ingredients as they see fit.
More climate wins this weekJeff Bezos pledged $1 billion to further the 30 by 30 initiative, which seeks to protect 30 percent of the Earth by 2030, The Washington Post reported. The money will go towards the Bezos Earth Fund, founded last year, to be focused on the Pacific Ocean, the Andes, and the Congo Basin.
China announced at the United Nations General Assembly this week that it would stop financing coal power projects around the world, The New York Times reported. Whether China plans to discontinue domestic coal investment was not disclosed. The country is currently the world’s largest financier and consumer of coal power.
Harvard University announced last week that it would entirely divest its $42 billion endowment fund from fossil fuel stocks, The Harvard Crimson reported. This announcement followed years of work from student activists and other environmentalists seeking to pull the world’s largest university endowment out of dirty energy. Students, enviros, and green investment funds cheered the announcement, and we expect it to put pressure on other large university endowments to follow.
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Trip stacking is the new travel trend you’ve probably never heard of
For many of us, the prospect of planning and booking multiple trips at once might sound like the eighth circle of hell. Unfortunately, the eighth circle of hell probably has fewer entry requirements and travel restrictions right now than our favorite destinations. With the Delta variant surging around the world, and the fate of our travel plans directly tied to its spread, planning a vacation is more uncertain now than ever. That’s why “trip stacking” is on the rise — a new trend that serves as an insurance bet against vacations being canceled by forces beyond our control.
Public health concerns and ever-shifting entry restrictions have combined to create a deeply uncertain landscape for travelers. This is especially true when it comes to international travel. In early September, for example, the European Union removed the US from its “safe list” of countries, and thousands of Americans suddenly found their travel plans in flux. Many are responding to the uncertainty by pushing their trips to 2022, while some are waiting until the last minute to book. Others have fully embraced “trip stacking,” which involves booking two trips during the same timeframe with the hope that one will actually come to fruition.
One of the trips is usually a more aggressive trip — like traveling internationally or taking a cruise — while the second trip is often domestic and less likely to be canceled. If the international trip is canceled, the idea is to have a fallback trip you can take instead. And if neither trip is canceled due to COVID, the backup trip can simply be rescheduled at low or zero cost.
Joshua Bush, CEO of the Avenue Two Travel company, told CNBC that Mexico and the Caribbean often serve as popular backup destinations for travelers wary of putting all their eggs in the European basket.
“By and large,” he said, “cancellation policies have stayed really flexible, allowing the traveler to have that choice.”
The problem with trip stacking, however, is that it’s not exactly beneficial for the hotel, tour, and cruise companies who have to accommodate a flurry of last-minute cancellations. The exploitation of trip stacking could ultimately lead to hotels and other travel suppliers ending their flexible canceling policies, but that hasn’t happened quite yet. To avoid straining his relationships within the travel industry, Bush said his company only books simultaneous trips for a “small group of our very best clients.”
Trip stacking can also cause prices to skyrocket on hotel, airline, and cruise booking websites. Costs typically rise across these platforms as occupancy levels increase, and trip stacking creates something like a phantom rise in occupancy. That negatively impacts not just the platforms themselves, but other travelers looking to get a reasonable rate.
The bottom line is: if you have the means to book two trips at once, and the means to ultimately take both — go for it. Trip stacking’s impact on travel booking websites and price inflation is pretty minimal, and its chances of prompting a rollback of flexible cancellation policies is unlikely.
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The Fairmont Gold Experience takes your Toronto trip to the next level
Most large hotel chains have a rewards system for frequent travelers who are loyal. Fairmont, the most iconic of Canadian hotel brands, thinks outside the box with its Fairmont Gold Experience.
For starters, you can experience its perks from your first stay, and while you’ll pay a couple of hundred bucks more per night, being treated like royalty while staying in a hotel that looks like a full-scale castle is pretty cool. In situations where the cost is justified, the Fairmont Gold Experience provides a host of remarkable perks.
So what is exactly is the Fairmont Gold Experience?
Photo: Booking.com
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Let’s look at a popular scenario to better explain. You and your partner are traveling to Toronto. This is primarily a leisure trip, but one or both of you will likely need to do some remote work while in town, including taking calls. You plan to visit popular attractions including the waterfront, Kensington Market, CN Tower, and maybe hit the Aga Khan or Bata Shoe Museums if there’s time. In the evenings you hope to explore the city’s international dining scene and catch a show at the UNESCO-listed Danforth Music Hall.
Thing is, doing all of this plus working while in Toronto is a lot, and you only have a few days. This is where the Fairmont Gold Experience Toronto is hugely beneficial. Think of this service as your personal concierge for the trip. The team can help arrange your dinners, ground transport, and other logistics, much like any basic concierge service. But the Fairmont Gold Experience is full-circle, designed for those who need to spend time hunched over their laptop in the hotel. Fairmont Gold gives you access to high-speed wifi in what is effectively a modern coworking space — the private lounge for Gold stays. Here you can take calls, crank out a day’s work productively and efficiently without distraction, and enjoy complimentary snacks and coffee while you do it. There’s even a meeting room available, should you need it.
Photo: Booking.com
Additionally, Gold stays have access to a healthy breakfast and afternoon canapés in the lounge. And a daily happy hour from what Fairmont dubs the Honor Bar which is complimentary as well. Each Fairmont Gold hotel has a private floor specific to Gold stays equipped with an equally private reception desk as well as media to include newspapers, games, and movies. Fairmont claims the staff at this desk will remember your name. This may be a bit creepy for those of us accustomed to the anonymity generally associated with staying in a hotel, but a nice gesture nonetheless and something regular travelers undoubtedly come to appreciate.
In summary, for a “bleisure” trip to Toronto (see what I did there?), Fairmont Gold Experience provides an experience of a high-end hotel and takes logistics off your plate. Kind of like how your partner was supposed to handle scouting flights for this trip — except for it actually comes through.
Speaking of the Fairmont Gold Experience in Toronto, the Fairmont Royal York is an ideal place to put the service to the test. Located right downtown, this hotel maintains the castle-like ambiance for which Fairmont is known. Its aura towers like a beacon of comfort and tranquility over the otherwise business-first Financial District. The Harbourfront and Sugar Beach are right up the street, and many of the city’s finest restaurants including Kost, Chotto Matte, and Bymark are within walking distance. There’s no better way to experience Canadian hospitality in the most Canadian of cities.
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Winners of the 2021 Ocean Photography Awards will make you see our oceans in a new light
The ocean is the largest ecosystem on earth, our primary life support system providing us with over 70 percent of the oxygen that we breathe. The Ocean Photography Awards don’t just present stunning images of the big blue sea; the awards remind us of the bigger picture, of our responsibility to protect our oceans.
The Ocean Photography Awards celebrate our planet and provide a platform for photographers and artists to tell stories about this ecosystem the dangers it is facing. Here are this year’s winners of the Ocean Photography Awards 2021.
Ocean Photographer of the YearWinner: Aimee Jan
Photo: Aimee Jan/Ocean Photography Awards
A green turtle, surrounded by glass fish. “I was out snorkelling when one of my colleagues told me there was a turtle under a ledge in a school of glass fish, about 10 metres down,” says photographer Aimee Jan. “When I dived down to look, the fish separated around the turtle perfectly. I said to her: ‘I think I just took the best photo I have ever taken’.”Adventure Photographer of the Year
Winner: Ben Thouard
Photo: Ben Thouard/Ocean Photography Awards
Surfer Matahi Drollet catches a wave known as Teahupo’o in Tahiti. Collective Portfolio Award
Winner:Stefan Christmann
Photo: Stefan Christmann/Ocean Photography Awards
Two emperor penguin fathers meet on the sea ice, showing their offspring.Community Choice Award
Winner: Phil de Glanville
Photo: Phil de Glanville/Ocean Photography Awards
Surfer Jack Robinson rides the famous break known as ‘The Right’, home to some of the heaviest waves in the world.Conservation Photographer of the Year
WINNER: Kerim Sabuncuoglu
Photo: Kerim Sabuncuoglu/Ocean Photography Awards
A dead moray eel on an abandoned fishing line. Exploration Photographer of the Year
WINNER: Martin Broen
Photo: Martin Broen/Ocean Photography Awards
Speleothems cast long shadows at cenote Dos Pisos. Female Fifty Fathoms Award
WINNER :Renee Capozzola
Photo: Renee Capozzola/Ocean Photography Awards
A lone blacktip reef shark lines up its dorsal fin with the setting sun in Moorea, French Polynesia. “This over-under image was achieved by using a wide-angle lens, a large dome port and strobe flash to illuminate the underwater portion of the picture,” says photographer Renee Capozzola. “Sharks are plentiful in French Polynesia due to their strong legal protections and are a sign of a healthy marine ecosystem.”Young Photographer of the YearWINNER: Hannah Le Leu
Photo: Hannah Le Leu/Ocean Photography Awards
A green sea turtle hatchling cautiously surfaces for air, to a sky full of hungry birds.
More like thisNewsMesmerizing aerial images from the Drone Awards 2021The post Winners of the 2021 Ocean Photography Awards will make you see our oceans in a new light appeared first on Matador Network.
September 23, 2021
Survey says these airports are the best to fly out of in 2021
Let’s be honest, when you’re getting to your destination by plane, your travel experience starts in the airport. Moving throughout the airport with ease and boarding your flight sets the tone for your trip. And as travel picks back up again you might be curious to know, which airports are the best to fly from?
J.D. Power released its annual North American Airport Satisfaction Study and had some interesting finds. While last year’s survey showed the impact of the pandemic, this year’s rankings show the aftermath, and in relation to flying, what airports are meeting the expectations of passengers and which ones are falling behind. With labor shortages, construction projects, and COVID regulations, passengers used to pre-pandemic standards may be disappointed while trying to reach their destination.
“Airport customer satisfaction reached all-time highs when passenger volumes were severely suppressed by the pandemic, but as leisure travel rebounded sharply throughout the spring and summer of 2021, we saw an expected downturn in satisfaction,” said Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power in a press release. “Ultimately, the data conveys changing expectations among travelers. Early in the pandemic, passengers were satisfied with any shop or restaurant being open, but they now expect full service at the airport.”
The survey study two categories this year — mega airports and large airports. Medium-size airports were excluded this year due to low traffic due to the pandemic. Mega airports see 33 million or more passengers per year, while large airports host 10 to 32.9 million passengers per year. The study used data of 13,225 completed surveys from U.S. or Canadian residents who departed, arrived, or had a connecting flight from a US or Canadian airport within 30 days of filling out the survey. The airports were scored out of 1,000 points over six categories in order of importance: terminal facilities, airport arrival/departure; baggage claim; security check; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail.
Miami International Airport was ranked the number one mega airport, earning a score of 828 out of 1,000. New York-JFK earned 817 points and was followed closely by Minneapolis-St. Paul with 815 points. The 2020 first-place airport, Phoenix earned fifth place with 808 points.
Photo: JD Power
In the large airport category, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport ranks highest with a score of 844, barely edging out Tampa International Airport with 843 points. and Raleigh-Durham International Airport earned third with 841 points.
Find out where your major airport falls on the list.
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Watch this heroic rugby player save a sheep stuck in barbed wire fence
Here’s your “awe” moment of the day to make your heart swoon. No one likes to see any animal in danger or in harm’s way so what does anyone do? Drop everything to go save the animal and that’s exactly what former rugby player Nick Cummins did.
In the video, Nick turns his emergency lights on and then jumping out of the car to save a sheep whose head is stuck in a barbed-wire fence. You can see the sheep struggling to get out the fence but lands no success as it continues to try to budge itself free.
Incredible pic.twitter.com/7z1D8XCvYl
— Dudes Posting Their W’s (@DudespostingWs) September 22, 2021
Nick manages to calm the sheep down before explaining that the sheep has caught its horns behind the wire. He carefully manages to get the sheep free without scraping the animal against the wire.
“Usually, they go into a sort of hypnotized state when you have them like this,” Nick explains as he grabs the animal by its trotters (feet). He then lifts the sheep over the fence where the sheep runs off into the field.
You can hear the sheep give off a “baa” as a form of a thank you before runs further off into the field, while Nick yells out a “you’re welcome” in return.
Don’t you just love happy endings?
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See Burning Man art pieces year-round at this new Colorado glamping resort
“RURAL AMERICA DESERVES ART, it deserves to be heard,” says Natalie Binder, founder of a new glamping hub-meets-artists haven outside the tiny town of Naturita, Colorado.
Binder is on a mission to bring engaging art installations and world-class hospitality to rural western Colorado. Her new glamping resort Camp V opened to travelers in April, 2021. Its name is taken from the old mining site that the area was named for — Vancorum. Nowadays visitors discover large-scale artworks combined with live performances, campfires, and on the best nights, inspiring stories bellowing from intrepid travelers who somehow, someway, have made their way to “the middle of nowhere.”
Most stay overnight in the property’s cabins and glamping tents. Some are curious road trippers interested in the art. Others are mountain bikers, hikers, or yogis, attracted by nearby trail systems and the tranquil vibes of an artsy riverfront property. Quirky events include the aptly named Burning Van festival, which took place in early September. The property has become known for hosting multiple pieces of art from Burning Man.
The property is a combination lodging art hotel for “spirited wanderers,” as its site proclaims, and a gallery of vagabond art. Some of this art debuted at Burning Man. Others are created especially for Camp V.
Photo: V Camp/Facebook
For Binder, creating a scene for artists, musicians, and outdoors-people here seemed like the best way for her to give back to a place she cares about deeply. Binder’s family have owned businesses and land in the area for multiple generations. Upon first arrival some 27 years ago, there was no place to stay in Naturita itself. Binder instead spent a lot of time in the nearby resort town of Telluride.
The regional coal-fired power plant closed in 2019, dealing a massive blow to the region’s already struggling economy.
“That was really the last employer in the area,” Binder says, acknowledging the tough transition the town is currently undergoing from an extraction economy to a recreation-based one. “I grew up in an extraction economy, and I very much understand both sides. My family was in the mining business. But in a community like this, they don’t have a choice — the decision is made.”
As regional discourse had it, Naturita was over. Telluride had the big-money hustlers and Durango had the Texas crowd, and what was left sure wasn’t going to head north onto the no man’s land of Wright’s Mesa. But Binder knew there was something to be done here in rural western Colorado. She drew from her family’s long run of entrepreneurialism in the area and her own background in hospitality — she had spent years managing high-end vacation properties — and identified a piece of land she felt could work for a lodging concept.
“It was rough, like really rough,” Binder says of both the property and the town following the coal plant’s closure. “There was a lot of drugs, a lot of junk sitting around. I called my family to tell them I’d found a piece of property and they were like, ‘Good luck!’”
Binder bought the property anyway. The concept of Camp V had an actual, physical home. Binder capitalized on the Opportunity Zone investment fund from the state of Colorado, launched to provide funding to start-ups in rural areas. With this money, she was able to retrofit the run-down cabins and clean up the property.
“We started a non-profit for the area called West End Art,” Binder says. “That’s where the Burning Man vibe comes from. I’ve been to Burning Man, and have friends that had art. The concept was, how do we start supporting artists and also bring in cool art?”
V Camp
Binder’s community of artists jumped on board, excited at the prospect of using their art to stimulate the economy of a place in need. Finding a home for large artworks during the 51 weeks per year when Burning Man isn’t happening surely appeals to a few of the artists, as well. Three pieces of art now at Camp V have been to at least one Burning Man. The Wind Chapel has been to two Burning Mans before being welded to its permanent home at Camp V. The Pariah Art Car is another popular attraction and one whose owner plans to bring it back to Burning Man when the festival returns to the Nevada desert. Visit during a special event and you may actually get to enjoy dinner on the car. A second piece by the same artist, The Wind Harps, has also been to Burning Man.
Camp V also hosts a number of reclaimed pieces of material from the coal mine and power plant that have been turned into art. This was Binder’s way to weave the area’s history into the area and pay homage to the locals and to her family’s roots in Naturita.
Visitors to this varied art hotel can hook up an RV and camp for as little as $45 per night. Studio rooms in a cabin run about $165 per night, and a campsite buyout for up to 20 people runs $450. In-between options include wilderness camping an Airstream trailer, and a two-bedroom cabin. Guests have access to a swimming pond and glamping tents. There’s plenty of space to barbecue and lounge over beers. Binder frequently hosts live music and other performances. And, of course, there’s the art. The overall experience falls somewhere between a cozy mountain retreat and actually being at a festival.
“People who come here, they understand our mission,” Binder says. “They want to further this transition to a recreation-based economy.”
There’s now a bike shop and an adventure rental company in town. Hunters make their way to western Colorado each fall, packing local pubs and restaurants as well as campsites and hotels. Increasingly, Binder finds others like her with the forward vision to recognize the area’s future as a recreation hub. Up the road in Norwood, a new mountain bike trail system is drawing visitors and the entire region has acquired Dark Sky Sanctuary status via the International Dark Sky Association.
The future looks bright for Camp V and the artists and travelers who make it here. The property just opened a new exhibit called “The Unknown Zone” from an artist called Mindbender, and plans to debut and host several exhibits in the coming months.
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Here are the top 25 US counties for mushroom foraging
Whether you’re ready to grow, looking for magic mushrooms, or spicing up your culinary options, do not fret because mushroom foraging season is finally here.
Finding a good source is a priority when it comes to mushroom hunting. Where to find morel mushrooms or other shrooms is essential to this process, and the website moveBuddah just helped us out by revealing the top 25 US counties for mushroom foraging.
All findings in this data were gathered based on research-grade observations of fungi reported in iNaturalist, according to moveBuddah. On the data collected from iNatualist, moveBuddah sorted them by counties, fungi kingdom, and their genus psilocybe.
Top 25 US counties for mushroom foragers
Alpine, CALane, ORLake, MNLincoln, ORSan Miguel, COCurry, ORSitka, AKCharlevoix, MIKing, WAGrant, WIDenver, COPacific, WAAlameda, CALinn, IAMarion, ORCrawford, WIChaffee, COWashington, ORWexford, MIRockingham, NCLos Angeles, CABernalillo, NMSan Diego, CASanta Cruz, CASkagway-Yakutat-Angoon, AK
Photo: moveBuddah
As you can see most of the top countries are in the Pacific Northwest. In that area, there is mostly cool weather, old-growth spots, and heavy annual rainfall, which are top climates where fungi grow.
Wetter areas and cooler climates aren’t the only places where you can grow and hunt for mushrooms. Dryer areas such as Los Angeles and Bernalillo County are still top areas to find mushrooms, and it’s also home to a lot of fungi enthusiasts who know their way around the desert.
For all the advanced mycophiles and psychonauts out there, for more information on mushrooming you can visit moveBuddah or check out the video below.
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