This year GLOBAL IDEAS visited the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas. We had a booth there to explain the contents of our programme and to show who is behind all the 'ideas for a cooler world.' SXSW is a set of film, interactive and music festivals and conferences that take place every spring. The festival started in 1987. At the beginning there were 700 registrants. Today about 12,000 creators, labels, media producers and entrepreneurs are registered.

Scotland has put together a marine atlas to chart its biodiversity and help marine planners make development decisions along the country's coast. The Scottish government has made the entire atlas and a variety of information available online, but they also put up this video as a guide.

 

The atlas helps us understand the state of Scotland's seas. That's important for scientists who want to study marine biodiversity in the region. And the atlas is a kind of manual to help developers understand where they need to be careful of precious sea life–from coral reefs to animals. And last but not least, it helps environmentalists understand the challenges Scotland faces in preserving its biodiversity, too.

 

Should more countries invest time and research into a marine atlas? How would it benefit the marine life where you life?

 

Vietnam has incredible potential when it comes to renewable energy. Because of its geography, it's a prime spot for producing hydropower or wind energy. Still, energy consumption in Vietnam remains entrenched largely in fossil fuels.

 

The German Society for International Cooperation, or GIZ, is helping the Vietnamese government and private investors find the best way to plan a green future for the country. GIZ workers are also helping train people in Vietnam to work in renewable energy fields–especially in harnessing wind power. Check out this Global Ideas report and let us know what you think!

 

We've told you a little about eco-friendly flying, but green travel has become one of the fastest-growing and most exciting parts of the tourism industry. At this year's ITB travel trade fair in Berlin, sustainable sustainable tourism is one of the biggest themes.

 

Exhibitors are offering ecologic tours at green resorts and hotels as well as vacation packages that are CO2 emissions-free! More and more people are looking for environmentally-conscious ways to travel–a way to see the world and experience new things without harming the world around them. Read more about ITB's sustainable trend here!

 

If you don't have a chance to get to ITB in Berlin, here's a list of some ecotourism travel companies who can help you organize a green vacation.
 

 

Atmosfair have published the first airline climate index ranking international air carriers according to CO2 emissions per flight kilometer and passenger. Taking into account factors like seating capacity per plane (the higher, the better for CO2 efficiency), load factor and aircraft types in use, the ranking offers surprising insights: No airline qualifies for the top two efficiency classes. And even then the highest ranks are occupied by any but the major carriers. Two charter airlines from the UK and Germany lead the pack, with the first major airline (carrying more than 20 million passengers a year), Korean Air, coming in at 20th place.

Here's the link to the full airline index, plus another link to the document outlining atmosfair's methodology.