Vacation Destinations

(Newser) - Bust a move, save the world. That's the premise behind a new disco in London that bills itself as the world's first eco-club, reports the Guardian . Its dance floor is designed to harness the energy of dancing feet. The club's owner says that alone will cover 60% of the electric bills, though scientists in the obscure field of piezoelectricity are skeptical the gains will be that high, Time notes. Solar power and wind turbines meet the rest of the club's energy needs. More »

(Newser) - Thousands of people will trek to the hinterlands on August 1 just to stand in the dark for three minutes. The reason: a total solar eclipse is set to sweep over a path spanning from China to Canada. Wired clues would-be eclipse chasers in on ways to maximize each sunless second. Maximum shadow time: This year the Russian city of Nadym will see the longest total eclipse, set to click in at 2 minutes, 27 seconds. Don't waste your time traveling to a partial eclipse. More »

(Newser) - The Tour de France has a new leader today after previous front-runner Stefan Schumacher crashed in the last half-mile on a hill, the Telegraph reports. The German cyclist managed to get back up quickly but had to climb the hill from a dead stop. He fell to third in the overall standings. The new cyclist with the yellow jersey is Luxembourg's Kim Kirchen—the man Schumacher crashed into on the hill. "That's life," said Schumacher. More »

(Newser) - As the Arctic sea ice melts, it’s uncovering vast resources, leading to an international energy and mining rush. Companies are lining up to explore the region, and nations are reviving Arctic border disputes in hopes of tapping its wealth. But the exploitation of the area’s resources could have dire environmental consequences, Ed Struzik writes on Yale Environment 360. More »

(Newser) - Soaring gas prices are changing Americans driving habits, cutting consumption to the lowest levels in five years, reports the Wall Street Journal. Gas consumption dropped by 3.3% to 9.3 million barrels a day compared with last year's Fourth of July holiday. Some 62% of Americans are changing summer plans because of rising gas prices, and 15% have canceled vacations altogether. More »

(Newser) - More expensive Chinese labor has American enterprises heading to Vietnam, moving Harold Meyerson to wonder, in the Washington Post , why 58,000 US soldiers died trying to defend democracy there. "American business, backed by the American government, has realized that the problem with communism wasn't that it was undemocratic but that it was anti-capitalist," Meyerson writes. More »

(Newser) - Kentucky bourbon is popular in the likes of Russia and China as drinkers worldwide flock to the US drink, the AP reports. A weak dollar, rising exports, and a bourbon trend among young Americans are also fueling the boom. "Younger consumers are interested in drinks that were, you might say, their grandfathers' drinks," said Max Shapira, president of Heaven Hill Distilleries in Kentucky. More »

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