P Diddy to Pay for your Cab this New Year’s Eve

Hip-hop mogul Sean P. Diddy Combs is giving out free cab rides to New Yorkers tonight in an effort to help them get home safely this New Year’s.

Diddy and Ciroc premium vodka have joined forces with the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission to make the free cab rides available to intoxicated New Year’s partiers.

Tonight, thousands of debit cards worth $15 will be handed out and redeemed for one-way cab rides.

The cards will be distributed by Ciroc vodka street teams in Times Square and Chelsea from 11 PM until 3 AM.

P. Diddy is a co-owner of Ciroc and said he would give $1 million to charity to have the Waterford Crystal New Year’s Eve Ball in Times Square tinted blue to resemble the blue stone of Ciroc vodka.

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Carbon Offsets to Soothe Guilty Air Travelers at SFO

Concerned about your carbon footprint?

San Francisco International Airport knows that you are and is planning to offer carbon credits to people concerned about the environmental impact of their travels.

The airport is planning to set up kiosks where travelers will be able to easily purchase carbon offsets. Carbon offsets work to counterbalance your carbon usage by reducing carbon emissions elsewhere.

When you purchase a carbon offset, it means that you are purchasing the equivalent to offsetting one metric ton of CO2.

The program at SFO would work like this: you enter your destination into the kiosk, which will then calculate the amount of carbon dioxide that you’re responsible for.

Then it comes up with a figure for what it will cost you to offset your carbon usage, and allows you to charge it right to your credit card by swiping it through the machine.

The receipt would detail the actual carbon-reducing projects the money went to.

The pilot program is being set up by carbon-offset company 3Degrees and is set to go into effect this coming spring.

In the meantime, if you’re flying Delta, you can purchase carbon offsets directly from their Delta Offsets website.

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Passengers Stranded on World’s Tallest Ferris Wheel

Over 170 passengers were trapped for hours on the 541-foot tall Singapore Flyer observation wheel last week.

A fire broke out and damaged the Flyer’s control room, trapping more than 170 people, many of them tourists, onboard.

It took about six hours to get the giant ferris wheel working again. Passengers were then evacuated and transported by ambulances.

The Singapore Flyer is the tallest ferris wheel in the world and was created in an effort to boost tourism in Singapore.

It opened in February, surpassing the height of the London Eye by 98 feet.

Since opening, the Flyer has experienced two other malfunctions.

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Laid-off Workers Fed for Free at Dubai Hotel

Are you unemployed and in Dubai? If you answered yes to those questions, someone wants to give you a free dinner.

The Arabian Park Hotel is offering free dinner to any unemployed person who shows up at their door.

Whether you’re a Dubai resident or just visiting, they will feed you as long as you show up with your layoff letter in hand.

Dubai, known for its construction and tourism boom, is experiencing the first mass layoffs in years as the global economic crisis has forced property developers to lay off hundreds of employees.

Dubai has been a place of employment for tens of thousands of foreign workers who moved there, who now fear that they could lose their jobs.

The hotel is trying to spread a little bit of cheer during a trying time and they hope that giving away free meals will also give a boost to their business.

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Venice Gallery to Exhibit Paintings Made by Horse

An art gallery in Venice is planning to exhibit paintings that were created by a very unique artist—a horse!

The gallery will be exhibiting paintings by Cholla, a 23-year-old mustang cross from Nevada who loves to paint abstract art. Cholla began painting about four years ago and some of his works have already been sold to collectors in Las Vegas and New York.

Even Martha Stewart liked his work so much that she bought one of his paintings.

In fact, an art gallery in Venice, Italy, likes Cholla’s paintings so much that they are planning to have an exhibition of his works next spring.

Cholla began painting four years ago when his owner, Renee Chambers, was painting the fence of his paddock.

Cholla seemed very interested in what she was doing so she began giving him canvas and paint.

He would paint by holding the brush in between his teeth, with Chambers assisting only to put paint on the brush and give it to him, and to pick up the canvas if fell on the ground.

Cholla paints his works on canvas mounted on an easel in his paddock.

You can see some of his works here: http://www.horseartcollection.com/artist.php

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Solar Powered Airport Hangar Helps Aviation Go Green

A new hangar at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, CA is helping the aviation industry go green.

Bob Hope Airport is now home to the world’s first and only (reported) solar-powered airport hangar, which made its debut last Tuesday, December 9th.

The 60,000 square-foot Hanger 25 is operated by charter flight operator Avjet. Photovoltaic solar panels on the roof provide enough electricity to power forklifts, tow vehicles and lights.

The building also provides the electricity needed to power a Boeing 757 while it is on the ground for maintenance.

Constructed from nontoxic materials, Hangar 25 feature lots of glass to allow natural sunlight into the building. It also features landscaping that is tolerant to droughts, and plumbing that helps conserve water.

The hangar, which came with a price tag of $17 million, is a joint-venture between Avjet Corp., Shangri-La Construction and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.

It has received U.S. Green Building Council’s highest environmentally friendly rating of LEED Platinum status, marking an important step toward a reduced carbon footprint for the aviation industry.

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World’s Longest “Green” Flight to Take Place December 15th

On December 15th, an Emirates Airlines plane will make the “world’s longest green flight.”

A Boeing 777-200 will be taking off from Dubai and flying to San Francisco for a 16-hour non-stop flight, as part of Emirates new effort to provide more eco-friendly service.

The flight will use several techniques to help conserve fuel and reduce the amount of energy needed to make the trip.

Before taking off from Dubai, the plane will use electrical power instead of an auxiliary power unit while on the ground.

The aircraft will receive a special pre-flight washing to help minimize drag and receive priority clearance from clearance from Dubai Air Traffic Control, allowing it to reach cruising altitude with maximum efficiency.

When the plane lands in San Francisco, it will have used a continuous descent approach to burn less fuel, and will use as little thrust as possible when landing, taxiing with a single engine on the way to the gate.

It is hoped that following these steps will save about 2,000 gallons of fuel and 30,000lb of carbon emissions. Additionally, all glass, paper and aluminum products used on board will be recycled.

The flight will be the world’s first cross-polar green flight, creating what Emirates says is a “critical connection” between Dubai and San Francisco.
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Entire Town gets Free Vegas Getaway

Las Vegas officials have decided which American town is most in need of a vacation, and they are sending the entire town to enjoy four nights in Sin City, free of charge.

Next weekend, nearly half of the residents of Cranfills Gap, Texas, population 358, will be flying out to Las Vegas for a free vacation, that is, if they are over 21 and able to get the time off from work.

The free trip comes courtesy of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority, who are providing the trip as part of a promotional campaign for Vegas tourism. Cranfills Gap was chosen from a list of over 125 small cities in America deemed in need of some rest and relaxation.

The entire trip will be filmed from start to finish, resulting in a documentary film and about half a dozen commercials.

Town residents who are able to go on the trip will leave on Saturday, December 13th. They will get to stay in Vegas for five days, all expenses paid. The trip will put Cranfills Gap on the map as the first American city to take a mass vacation together.

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Airport Karaoke Spreads Holiday Cheer

If you’re traveling through Houston’s Bush International Airport during the next few weeks, you may notice sounds of the season being sung not by a choir, but by your fellow travelers.

The airport has set up Karaoke booths for travelers who want to get into the holiday spirit and kill time while waiting for their flight. Singers will have hundreds of song titles to choose from and will also win small prizes for singing.

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