Bloggeron - Prince Charles Highlights Environment And Tourism

This year’s ABTA Convention (ABTA is the Association of British Travel Agents) took place in October in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria - the first time ABTA had gathered on the island.

Ok, first question: If these British travel agents actually believed in Gore's scam, why in the world would they meet off the coast of Africa instead of in Britain?

Phoenix: Alternative fuel fiasco

PHOENIX (AP) -- Compressed-natural-gas vehicles, once the darling of the alternative-fuel movement, are being overshadowed by cars powered by electricity, propane and hydrogen.

CNG vehicles enjoyed a brief popularity after a tax-incentive program implemented in 2000 by the Legislature backfired.
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Brown, who lives in Ahwatukee and now works at Arizona State University Polytechnic in east Mesa, said he became discouraged when two CNG stations he had used closed. He also became worried about maintenance after finding just one auto shop, SanTan Honda Superstore of Chandler, with certified CNG technicians in Arizona.

"It's not one of those things where you can just walk in anytime and get service," Brown said. "It was getting to be dicey for that reason. And the older the car got, the more it would need to be serviced."

The original alternative-fuels program gave tax rebates for vehicles that could run on CNG, liquefied petroleum gas (also known as propane) and other fuel sources besides conventional gasoline. The program was so popular that its estimated $10 million cost mushroomed to $483 million. It was widely criticized and eventually dumped because it allowed alternative-fuel car owners to drive in carpool lanes and bypass emissions tests even when they were running their vehicles on gasoline.

Some CNG owners say they're frustrated by the lack of support eight years later for early adopters who jumped on the alternative-fuel bandwagon.