ResponsibleTravel.com has stopped offering a carbon offset programme for travellers.
The company was one of the first travel organizations to introduce carbon offsets in 2002.
The concept involves offsetting the amount of carbon emissions created by air travel by inviting travellers to pay for the planting of trees or other actions that reduce carbon elsewhere. Carbon emissions contribute to global warming.
“We believe that the travel industry’s priority must be to reduce carbon emissions, rather than to offset,” said company founder Justin Francis in a statement on the ResponsibleTravel.com website. “Too often offsets are being used by the tourism industry in developed countries to justify growth plans on the basis that money will be donated to projects in developing countries.”
Francis said he agreed with a report by the organization Friends of the Earth, which called carbon offsets a “dangerous distraction” that create a “medieval pardon for us to carry on behaving in the same way or worse.”
Launched in 2007 by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, this wonderful, screen-filling, animated 
On Saturday 5 December 2009, The Wave, the UK’s biggest ever demonstration in support of action on climate change will flood the streets of central London, ahead of crucial UN climate talks in Copenhagen. 
This project provides the opportunity to independently direct and produce a film for a non-profit organisation. The role involves making a short informational video about the organization and its mission. The film will help the organisation reach an international audience. 
Manu Chao is famous for blending musical styles but even for him his latest album is a departure: a collaboration with psychiatric patients who run an Argentine radio station called Radio Loony.
One of the finest, least expected albums of the past few years was Watina, in which the late and greatly missed Andy Palacio introduced global audiences to the gently rousing, rhythmic and soulful styles of the Garifuna people of Central America. Those who were rightly delighted by Palacio’s album should check out this album, which was also produced by Ivan Duran, and features a selection of fine female singers from across the Garifina region, from Belize to Guatemala and Honduras. As with Palacio’s album, the infectious backing is mostly provided by hand drums and guitars (with Duran making an impressive contribution on many tracks), but the real stars are the 12 female singers. Aged from mid-20s to mid-50s, they provide an emotional, often thrilling, reminder of why Garifuna music is so distinctive and enthralling. Many of the songs have light, gently driving rhythms, and they range from the slinky Merua to the subtle but gloriously rhythmic Anaha Ya, which features some particularly fine stomping guitar work, or soulful, reflective laments like the sad but simple Lirun Biganute (Sad News). Palacio’s legacy lives on.
The annual Cambalache Festival fuses tango with theatre and dance in the form of performances, themed workshops, documentaries, short films and video. Catch the stylish tango-related events at El Cubo in the Abasto neighbourhood and Espacio Teatral Cambalache in Balvanera from the 7 – 13 December 2009.
Four people have been arrested in Peru on suspicion of killing dozens of people in order to sell their fat and tissue for cosmetic uses in Europe.
There is a saying in football that “the English invented it, the Brazilians perfected it” and few would argue, particularly with Brazil rated as joint-favourites to win World Cup 2010 in South Africa. 
Iguazú Falls, called Foz do Iguaçu in Portuguese, and Cataratas del Iguazú in Spanish, lie on the Argentina – Brazil border and are a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.