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With the best part of a year spent indoors, many of us have replaced real holidays with webcam travel, visiting the far corners of the globe to see exotic flora and fauna without risking a plane journey. Others, however, just don’t get the appeal.
Tourism expert David Jarratt has been interviewing people about their webcam adventures during 2020 to try to understand what drives the popularity of this trend. They’ve been to Venice, watched rare birds hatching and unwound in front of Mediterranean waves.
For some it’s a replacement for travel, for others it’s preparation for the real adventures of the post-pandemic future. For everyone, though, it seems to be a thoroughly relaxing experience. I was a bit of a sceptic but I dare you not to be instantly calmed by the Homosassa Springs manatee cam livestream featured in this article.
Boris Johnson had a little holiday to Brussels this week, where he failed to come up with a Brexit deal. This weekend, the tense talks reach their climax and we are promised that by tomorrow, a decision will be made. Will the UK leave the EU with a trade agreement or crash out without one? At this point, it all comes down to three sticky issues. Simon Usherwood sets each of them out here.
The UK government has high hopes for heat pumps, pledging to install 600,000 of them per year by 2028 as part of its clean energy drive. But what do these devices do and should you get one for your home? Here’s how they compare to a gas boiler.
Also this week, we’re preparing for a lunar gold rush, chewing over questions on lab-grown meat and deciding whether we want immunity passports.
And while you might replace holidays with virtual travel, quality information is the real thing for which there is no substitute. That’s why The Conversation teams its editors with academic experts in order to bring their knowledge to a wider audience. If you value what we do and are able to support us, please donate to The Conversation today. And if you’ve already donated, thank you for your support.
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