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New 7 Wonders of the World Named

Paul Patterson — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:35:23 GMT

In a gala Official Declaration Ceremony held at Lisbon’s (Portugal) Benfica Stadium, the New 7 Wonders Foundation announced – in random order – the names of the sites/landmarks that have been declared the New 7 Wonders of the World. The results were based on more than 100 million votes cast by individuals from around the world.

The “wonders” chosen for the honor are: The Great Wall of China, the Inca city of Machu Picchu (Peru), the Roman Colosseum, the ancient city of Petra (Jordan), the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza (Mexico), the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and India’s magnificent Taj Mahal.

The festivities, which were hosted by actresses Hilary Swank and Bipasha Basu and actor Ben Kingsley, attracted celebrities from a variety of countries and were broadcast worldwide. Those who performed or spoke during the ceremony include opera singer Jose Carreras, pop stars Jennifer Lopez and Chaka Khan, astronaut Neil Armstrong, and a host of dancers and acrobats from around the world.

The New 7 Wonders Foundation was the brainchild of Bernard Weber, who formed the organization to “unite the world by honoring our common heritage.” Weber explains that the 7 “new” wonders were chosen because “the original list of Ancient Wonders, drawn up more than 2,000 years ago, contained 7 and because 7 has been shown time and time again to be the number of things that the average person can remember.”

At the ceremony, Weber also announced the start of his organization’s next project - the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Southwest Fares on the Rise

Paul Patterson — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:26:46 GMT

Southwest Airlines has raised fares of most of its flights by $1 to $10 each. The announcement came over the weekend, and many other airlines moved quickly to match the rate hike.

The increases began showing up Friday and ranged from $1 each way on flights of under 500 miles to $10 on walk-up fares for flights longer than 1,250 miles, said Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin.

Southwest remained profitable during the airline industry slump which began in early 2001. The slump due to a weak economy, the lasting effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and increasing operating costs. The increase in fares is not a surprise in an industry so highly sensitive to crude prices - jet fuel being one of the top expenses.

“Costs of running an airline continue to rise, more than 10 percent in the first quarter, driven primarily by a 12.6 percent cost surge in fuel,” said ATA vice president and chief economist John Heimlich. “Fortunately, airlines were able to compensate with a 16.7 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and continued vigilance on other controllable items.”

"It's still about cost," Harbin said. "Fuel prices are still extremely high, and we're making modest adjustments to cover those costs."

Southwest has historically boasted about its low fares. However, this increase marked its third increase this year after six fare hikes in 2006.

No Hike in Fees At Yosemite In 2008

Paul Patterson — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:26:46 GMT

Vehicle entrance fees at Yosemite National Park will remain at $20 until at least 2009. A waiver to Yosemite was issued by the director of the National Park Service last week that will keep the fees from rising to $25 dollars. The waiver will remain in effect for at least one year.

Yosemite National Park escaped a nationwide increase in national park fees slated for January 2009. The National Park Service previously announced a $5 fee hike in May, as part of a national plan to raise rates for annual park passes and fees for vehicles at nearly one-third of the areas managed by the agency.

Yosemite was spared the rate hike due to public outcry from merchants, tourism officials and county politicians. Scott Gediman, a spokesman for the park, said that when the park solicited public comment about the proposed fee increase earlier this year, "we heard overwhelmingly that people were opposed to it." Superintendent Michael Tollefson asked the agency to grant Yosemite a fee waiver.

The park has suffered a 20 percent drop in visits to the park since 1997, when the entrance fee went from $5 to $20 a car.

Government to Ease Passport Burden

Paul Patterson — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 20:34:11 GMT

The Bush administration is planning to announce that it will ease into the more stringent passport rules planned for next year in order to minimize the waiting time caused by a backlog of nearly 3 million applications.

This announcement comes in the wake of angered U.S. citizens, many of whom are forced to wait up to three months to receive their passports – doubling the normal waiting period.

"By the end of September, we will get to eight weeks, and by the end of the year, back to six weeks" processing time, Assistant Secretary of State Maura Harty told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee. Harty also acknowledged that officials had failed to predict how many Americans would apply for a passport immediately once the new rules took effect in January. Nearly 5.4 million passport applications were filed in just a few months.

The increased processing time is due to new regulations this year that require passports for U.S. citizens flying to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.

World's Most Expensive Cities 2007

Paul Patterson — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 08:24:19 GMT

Moscow once again wins the unfortunate distinction as the world's most expensive city, according to a report by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, which profiles the most expensive cities in the world. This marks the second year in a row that Moscow has come out on top as the priciest city.

The report uses the cost of living in New York as a base and considers factors such as the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household items, and entertainment in the calculations. Mercer’s analysis concluded that Moscow is a full 34.4 percent more expensive than New York City. London came in number two on the list of pricey cities, followed closely by Seoul and Tokyo.

In the U.S it was not a big surprise to find New York in the top 20. The Big Apple was ranked first in the US and 15th globally. Los Angeles came in at 42nd, and San Francisco a distant 54th – having dropped twenty places from last year.

The 20 Most Expensive Cities in the World are as follows:

Moscow
London
Seoul
Tokyo
Hong Kong
Copenhagen
Geneva
Osaka
Zurich
Oslo
Milan
St. Petersburg
Paris
Singapore
New York City
Dublin
Tel Aviv
Rome
Vienna
Beijing

Shipwreck Yields Treasure near Key West

Paul Patterson — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:47:24 GMT

Blue Water Ventures, a salvage company based out of Florida has discovered what could exceed over $1,000,000 in gold and other precious artifacts 40 miles off the coast of Key West.

The treasure comes from the Santa Margarita, a Spanish ship that sunk 40 miles West in the Florida Keys near the island of Key West in 1622 resulting from a Hurricane. The wreckage was originally discovered by late treasure hunter Mel Fisher in 1980 and this latest find marks the greatest bounty yet to be discovered from the Margarita.

The bounty recovered from the depths of the ocean includes a total of eight gold chains, eleven ornate gold pieces, seven gold links, three intricate gold pieces, a gold bar and hundreds of other significant historic artifacts including a lead box that may contain pearls along with other potentially priceless items.

Man Vs. Wild Everglades

Paul Patterson — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:09:37 GMT

The world premiere of the new season of Man vs. Wild is underway on Friday, June 15. The latest episode of the popular adventure reality show strands host Bear Grylls in the swamps of the Florida Everglades. In this episode, Bear demonstrates how to keep alligators at bay, deal with vicious razor-sharp grass, and find stomach-churning food that will keep you alive if you find yourself lost in this beautiful but dangerous destination.

At 1.5 million acres in size, the Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. Florida’s Everglades are home to rare and endangered animals and an abundance of unique fauna, including mangrove forests, hardwood hammocks, and massive open saw grass marshes.

The Florida Everglades is is also home to more than a million alligators, thousands of snakes, and even black bears. These waterlogged lands have more than its share of hazards. Be sure to tune in and see how Bear fares against his latest survival challenges.

Best of the National Parks 2007

Paul Patterson — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 12:39:32 GMT

Summer marks the time for family vacations and epic road trips. What better way to spend your summer getaway than exploring our national parks. For many of us, visiting a national park conjures up images of pristine, untouched wilderness. Everyone has their own reason to visit the National parks - maybe you are seeking an opportunity to view geological wonders up close, or perhaps you want to ponder the significance of historical landmarks, or maybe you just want to experience the clean, quiet spaces and escape the city. Either way, we are lucky to have so many choices when it comes to National Parks. To help you plan your next adventure, the staff here at WhatsYour20 has handpicked a few of our favorites to feature on our Best of the National Parks 2007 edition.

Often referred to as the “crown jewel of Maine”, beautiful Acadia National Park provides the best the state has to offer, from rugged beaches and pristine mountain scenery to small towns that merge with the park to add local flavor. First established in 1916 as Sieur de Monts National Monument, the park changed names again – to Lafayette National Park – before it became Acadia in 1929. Many private citizens were integral in insuring that this unique Maine landscape was preserved, fearing over development of the area. Donors of land included George B. Dorr, Charles W. Eliot, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

The largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, Everglades National Park is a treasure. Recognized as both a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve, Florida’s Everglades are home to rare and endangered animals and an abundance of unique fauna, including mangrove forests, hardwood hammocks, and massive open saw grass marshes. At 1.5 million acres in size, it’s easy to see how one can spend several days in this park – nicknamed “The River of Grass” – and never run out of things to do.

Glacier National Park is located in remote northwestern Montana on the U.S./Canadian border. Home to both grizzly and black bears, Glacier is a wonderful park to view animals in their natural setting. With over 700 miles of trails, Glacier is a hiker's paradise for adventurous visitors seeking wilderness and solitude. Glacier National Park offers a wide variety of recreational activities including: camping, hiking, boating, fishing, backcountry camping, bicycling, ranger-led nature hikes and talks, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and sightseeing.

Located in northwestern Washington in the region of the state known as the Olympic Peninsula, 922,000-acre Olympic National Park features a wonderful diversity of terrains that are a delight to explore. With more than 73 miles of coastline, the picturesque Olympic Mountains (including 8,000-foot Mount Olympus), and plenty of temperate rainforest, there’s something for everyone to enjoy in this expansive national park. Summer and early fall are the best times to visit Olympic National Park. While July and August can be warm, it’s rarely unbearably hot. July, August, and September are also the driest months of the year. Winters are mild at lower elevations but large amounts of snow can accumulate in the mountains.

The Grand Canyon should be a destination for everyone at some point in their lifetime. Perhaps the most iconic of all natural wonders in North America, the Grand Canyon National Park is one of the first national parks in the United States. The park contains the Grand Canyon, a gorge carved by the Colorado River. Venture away from the crowds and into the depths of the Canyon to experience one of nature's greatest spectacles the same way it was made – leisurely and peacefully.

Yellowstone National Park has always been one of the U.S.’s most visited parks and a favorite with guests of all ages. You don’t need to be a nature lover to enjoy Yellowstone, the sights are so amazing that even a city dweller will be awed by the natural beauty of this park. America’s oldest National Park, established in 1872, this 2.2 million-acre park attracts about 3 million visitors each year, and chances are that when some of those millions return for a second visit, the park is likely to be different than during their previous trip. People come to Yellowstone for lots of different reasons. Some just come to see the sights, such as the Old Faithful Geyser, the most famous and regularly-erupting of the 300+ geysers located throughout the park. Others head to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, a 20 mile long, (up to) 1,200 feet deep, and, in some spots, 4,000 foot wide canyon that is absolutely breathtaking. Be sure to bring a camera and catch a picture of the magnificent Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon.

This is just a sampling of our greatest national parks. Take some time out this summer to make your own list of greatest parks.