Politics aside, this is actually pretty spectacular. Chinese mountaineering team, including a woman from Tibet, took the Olympic flame to the top of the world today, AP reports.

The team used torches designed by rocket scientists to take the flame to the peak of Mount Everest. Fueled by propane, the flame burned brightly in the frigid, windy, oxygen-thin Himalayan air thanks to technology that keeps rocket motors burning in the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The flame was carried most of the way in a special metal canister. As the team neared the summit, they used a wand to pass the flame to the torch.

Wow. All this effort just to say "we did it."

The Mount Everest climbers were struggling for breath in a live television broadcast as five torchbearers each shuffled a few feet before passing on the flame to the next person. The final torchbearer, a Tibetan woman named Cering Wangmo, stood silently on the peak with her torch while other team members unfurled small Chinese and Olympic flags. They then clustered together, cheering "We made it," and "Beijing welcomes you."

One would almost think that China and Tibet are best friends. Almost.

I posted a story about an on-line test developed by the University of Chicago to help people learn about their tendencies to think a wallet or a cell phone may be a gun depending on the color of the person's skin. Two commenters wondered what the study has to do with travel. I think most things have to do with travel, but I majored in sociology as an undergraduate, so I see connections in EVERYTHING. Name two subjects and I'll find the connecting dots somewhere.

Since my post, Iva wrote a post about gun related deaths in Chicago during one weekend, and the people she knows who wants to see bad neighborhoods. This is not that different, I don't think, than people who drive through Appalachia looking to see if people have teeth.

When I learned about the study about racism and guns, I flashed to ideas about safety and travel. Perhaps, I was thinking, people's ideas about safety have something to do with where they choose to go on vacation, and perhaps, if they travel at all. There are plenty of reasons why people choose vacation spots, but there are reasons why people don't pick certain destinations as well. I don't think racism is it, but a sense of security and the predictable is.

There's a reason why Disneyland and Disney World get a crowd. Part of it has something to do with feeling safe, I would guess. The Magic Kingdom has a far-reaching comfort zone. When our daughter was five-years -old, we lost her in Disneyland for a few minutes because my husband thought she was holding my hand, and I thought she was holding his. We were busy arguing about something, thus distracted. Our daughter had stopped to look at something and we had kept going. We freaked a bit, running pell mell, retracing our steps, but I didn't think something bad would have happened. Disneyland is about as controlled an environment as one can get.

Add this one to the "Save the ____" list.

There's a group out there that has created a Web site aimed at saving the 40-year-old electric battle map at Gettysburg National Military Park, which is scheduled to be dismantled and put into storage when the old museum there is demolished next year.

The map has been a perennial park favorite, lighting up to show visitors key troop movements at important junctures at the famous Civil War battle. Thousands of Civil War buffs have been able to better visualize Pickett's Charge over the years because of it.

A new museum and visitor's center opened at Gettysburg last month, complete with the latest technology that, park officials say, will bring the battle home to visitors like never before. But there's a small army out there who says new technology be damned: the 30 x 30 electronic map (complete with more than 600 lights), invented by some guy in Connecticut, is one of a dying breed of old school Civil War displays, like the Cyclorama in Atlanta depicting Sherman's men torching the city.

The Save the Electric Map homepage is aimed at those out there enraged that a crowd favorite has been taken out of commission at Gettsyburg (though park authorities are not ruling out bringing the map back in some capacity). There are phone numbers and ways to take action. And the guy on the homepage looks like Robert E. Lee. Kind of.

What happens when you mix a rapidly growing manufacturing economy, unbridled entrepreneurial enthusiasm and uneducated workers? Sweet mistakes like what happened this week in China.

Police in Guangdong, China just raided a factory that was apparently manufacturing "Free Tibet" flags, the same ones that protesters have been flying across the world, at Olympic events and in the face of frustrated Chinese bureaucrats.

Apparently the workers initially didn't know what kind of flags they were making, they just thought that they were making colorful, fun flags for export. After finally getting suspicious, they found out what the Snow Lion flag meant and notified authorities.

Who has the gall to try to manufacture something like that in a communist country? The workers can plead ignorance all they want, but someone had to authorize the order.

Awwwwwkward.

Is this a PR strategy to get more tourists to visit Lesbos Island or do they really care?

Three islanders from Lesbos - Greek island and home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love between women - have taken a gay rights group to court for using the word lesbian in its name, Newsweek reports. One of the plaintiffs said that the name of the association, Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece, "insults the identity" of the people of Lesbos, who are also known as Lesbians.

The three plaintiffs are seeking to have the group barred from using "lesbian" in its name.

Lesbos should just use the term lesbian to advertise the island: "Lesbos: where Lesbians love men." Tell me that wouldn't work.

No.

We wrote about a story originating at MSNBC earlier last week claiming that pilots were being forced to cut corners to conserve costs on fuel. More than a few people were obviously concerned -- contributor Cheryl writes:

"That is a troublesome report at best and a very scary one at worst. What are the airlines waiting for a crash caused by not enough fuel on board when they are put in a holding pattern or can't land either the airport they were planning to and can't land at the nearest one either and then crashes. The FFA needs to get off it's butt and make them do what is right for the public's safetly. Human lives are priceless. All the more reason to drive if you have the time...and it is still cheaper than flying any more even at 4.00 a gallon."

Since the article's publication, however, several pilots have stepped in to comment. Our own Kent Wien, a pilot who writes our Cockpit Chronicles feature commented:

" It might vary somewhat from airline to airline, but I've never run into a situation where we weren't allowed to put on extra fuel if we felt we needed it. I've had two flights divert for fuel in the past 15 years, but that was after holding for nearly an hour in one case. We always land with at least an hours worth of fuel on board on clear days and average two to three hours on days with adverse weather."

Additionally, Patrick Smith over at his Ask the Pilot blog writes:

"The regulations get complicated, particularly on international routes, but a good place to start is with the U.S. domestic rule: You cannot take off without enough fuel to reach your intended destination, then proceed to the most distant of any required alternative airport (one or more might have to be designated, in accordance with forecast weather minimums), plus maintain a 45-minute cushion on top of that.

Fly to your destination; fly to your alternative; and fly for an additional 45 minutes. You cannot -- cannot -- depart with less. Trust me, no airline that wants to remain in business asks its crews to do so. And if it did, no captain who wants to keep his or her license would agree. Payload permitting, however, you are welcome to depart with more than is legally needed. A fatter margin gives you greater flexibility, or holding time, in the event of unexpected delays. It's this above-and-beyond fuel that airlines are cutting back on, not regulatory fuel."

So take a deep breath and relax. Depots like MSNBC are excellent at stirring up trouble, generating hits and causing a controversy -- it's what makes them money. In this case, however, there's no real reason to get worked up.

When I told some people I was heading to Mexico to build houses there was a mixed reaction.

• Some people wanted to know how they could go along.
• Some thought that this was the greatest idea since sliced bread.
• Some gave money to help fund our endeavor
• Some were wary of the value of a bunch of high schoolers and adults descending into Mexico across from Tijuana to build houses in order to make the world a better place.
• Some thought it was a good idea that we build houses in Mexico to help keep Mexicans in Mexico.
• One person thought it ironic that I was going to Mexico to build houses when there are so many Mexican immigrants building houses here.

Such are the types of comments people make to those who are embarking on do good travel. Even Rick Steves has something to say.

My friend has a sticker on his bike that reads "I don't need a war to power my bike." Indeed, it seems that biking (or good old-fashioned hoofing it) might be one of the last conflict-free modes of transportation. As alternative fuel options are explored in order to lessen the world's dependency on oil, it appears that the same old problems aren't going to go away.

Take biofuel, for example.

The managing director general of the Asian Development Bank, Rajat Nag, suggests that governments who subsidize biofuel production are contributing to global starvation.

"Giving subsidies for biofuels ... basically acts as an implicit tax on staple foods," he says.

What this means is that if a country is focused on producing fuel, then it's not focused on producing food. With riots erupting over the past few weeks over food shortages in the Caribbean and Africa, it's obvious that the world is approaching a crisis point. The U.S., for example, is the largest producer of ethanol, which is produced from corn and other grain crops. The U.S. government has heavily subsidized ethanol production, paying farmer to produce ethanol.

I love the idea of running my car on recycled vegetable oil, and it seems like that is what the grass-roots biofuel movement is all about. But turning the world's fields into ethanol producers does not seem like a long-term solution.

Happy Earth Day! In honor of America's greenest day of the year, we at Gadling are giving away free copies of Green Travel: The World's Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels, a new guide by Fodors.

Coming out on April 29th (you get a pre-release!), Green Travel is a comprehensive guide to traveling with a light carbon footprint, complete with beautiful sprawling pictures as well as up to date guide and destination information. It's a must-own for any environmentally conscious traveler out there, and you can get a copy free from your friends at Gadling.

• To enter, simply leave a comment below.
  
• The comment must be left before Friday, April 25 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Five winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Five Grand Prize Winner will receive a copy of Green Travel (valued at $21.95)
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.
• Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

I've been thinking about John Muir and people who have such a passion that their whole life is dedicated to its pursuit. John Muir, as I wrote in a previous post, was dedicated to the preservation of nature. To really see the world as John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, saw it, hiking the John Muir Trail is one option. The trail winds 211 miles through mountainous scenery that includes three national parks: Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia.

Typically, people start at Mt. Whitney and head to the Yosemite Valley. The best time for hiking is July through September. The Pacific Crest Trail Association has a terrific guide that explains details about the trail and gives suggestions about planning a hike.

To enjoy the hike from the comfort of your computer screen, here is a video I came across with exquisite shots that vary between landscape, closeups and people. It's perfect for enjoying the earth and reinforcing why it's important to take care of it. Thanks to raceyjones for sharing on YouTube the 20-day hike he took on the John Muir Trail August 2006.