“Water in an Urbanising World” is this year’s theme of World Water Week currently taking place in Stockholm. The 2011 installment of the annual event draws experts from science, NGOs, business and politics to debate the issue of water (and the lack of it). In the words of the organizers the conference “focuses on new thinking and positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world’s environment, health, climate, economic and poverty reduction agendas.”

Watch the live stream from the conference here:

The FIFA Women’s World Cup will kick off in Germany on June 26th and runs until July 17th, and it looks set to be an exciting tournament with the some of the best teams and players in the world. FIFA has also made a strong commitment to making this year’s world cup a green one.

In February, the organization launched its environmental initiative “Green Goal 2011” with the aim of assessing the World Cup’s environmental impact and finding ways to reduce that impact throughout the tournament. That means organizers are monitoring things like energy and water consumption, trash disposal, transportation and food as part of an eco-friendly management system in all the stadiums.

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.
 

 

Whether it's to escape cold weather, visit family or friends or explore a new place, a lot of you out there probably have a trip or planned this winter. And chances are that most of you will be flying to get to your destination. Millions of people are in the air everyday, and unfortunately that has serious consequences for our environment.

 

Back in 2008, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put out some alarming statistics on flying: every year, planes burn around 130 million tons of fuel. If you think that's bad, that number is supposed to climb to 450 million tons by the year 2050. Of course, many airlines out there are working to make their planes more green-friendly by doing things like eliminating pollutants from jet exhaust and developing bio-fuel technology.

 

But what can you do? Flying is unavoidable sometimes–taking a bus or a train just isn't an option for some trips. But you can be more aware of the impact your flights have on the environment. Here at Global Ideas, we have a useful emissions calculator that gives you an idea how much each flight you take is contributing to global warming. In fact, we use this calculator to offset our own trips!