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Forest fires, as all natural disasters, have the potential to seriously affect both the environment and the social structure of a local community. Unlike some of the natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornados and tsunamis which are unpredictable, the phenomenon of forest fires could be easily predicted and controlled, since the causes are mainly anthropogenic. This article, focusing on the paradigm of forest fires that occurred in Greece during the summer of 2007, deals in depth with the significant role that Civic Ecology Education plays in the promotion of resilient societies. Given the fact, that the specific forest fires resulted in an unusually high death toll, the article argues about the need for successful environmental education for resilience in order to avoid similar tragedies. Increasing the social tolerance to natural hazards and directing communities' efforts towards strengthening sustainable development in their area should become common practices everywhere.

Tourism researchers have begun to study the phenomenon of domestic tourism, especially in developing countries. The growth of research interest in domestic tourism in developing countries underpins a stream of research in developed countries. The analysis reveals the appeal of these distinctive forms of tourism, international and domestic with regards to leisure, recreation and tourism patterns, but also highlights potential limitations including the dilemma of how to deal with the question of environmental quality that is affected by prevailing international and domestic tourism activities. Impacts of climate change on domestic and international tourism and environmental impacts caused by domestic and international tourism are highlighted. This paper suggests that Environmental Education is the key to this critical area concerning domestic tourism, international globalized tourism and environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental interpretation in Greece is in its infancy as an academic field. There are no nature guides or specific conservation objectives, and there is no professional training for non formal environmental educators and/or interpreters. The a of this paper is to reveal the necessity of integrating environmental interpretation in training of Greek Ecotour guides. The focus is on developing abilities which could enable Greek Ecotour guides to communicate and interpret the significance of the environment, promote minimal impact practices, ensure the sustainability of the natural and cultural environment, and motivate visiting tourists to evaluate the quality of life in relation to larger ecological or cultural concerns. The rationale underpinning this objective is that by providing accurate and effective interpretation of ecotourism sites as well as monitoring and modelling environmental responsible behaviour, the outcome will be to promote positive impacts of tourism and alleviate negative ones Local community will be encouraged to participate in environmental management of ecotourism settings. Furthermore, connecting ecotourism commitment to returning benefits, particularly economic and employment ones to local communities, it stresses that training local people to be interpretive guides, helps achieving not only ecological sustainability but also economic sustainability. Once trained, guides may encourage conservation action amongst both tourists and the local community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes how soil conditions derived from composted sludge were evaluated to determine if bacterial standards were needed to control Salmonella contamination. Detection of high concentrations of fecal coliforms in most samples; Low levels of Salmonella in the composted sludge; Low probability of infection in most scenarios.