Containermania

Volunteer deals Groups of 10 or more get a discount if they book lodging and airfare for a volunteer vacation through cheaptickets.com. India flight Jet Airways plans to bring service to the U.S. in August, with a daily flight between Newark and Mumbai (via Brussels). AirTran fees The airline is charging $5-$15 for some aisle and exit-row seats. CityPass NYC CityPass has added the Met museum to its New York pass and the Hockey Hall of Fame to its Toronto pass. Nonstop routes ExpressJet announced new nonstops connecting smaller airports, including San Antonio to Tulsa, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and Tucson; and Jacksonville, Fla., to Kansas City, New Orleans, and Austin. Skybus airline Skybus began flying from Columbus, Ohio, to Richmond, Oakland, and other airports, promising at least ten $10 seats on each flight. But it's charging for everything--and you can't bring food on board. Teen programs After consulting teenagers, Royal Caribbean is rolling out new features for them like Nintendo's Wii, teen-only dining, and an ice-breaker jam session with musical instruments. Billy Graham Library opens Charlotte, N.C., is home to a library dedicated to the evangelist. The building resembles a barn; the entrance is a 40-foot-tall glass cross. billygraham.org National Park fees going up Over the next three years, higher rates will be introduced at a third of U.S. national parks, including Big Bend, Zion, and Mesa Verde. The old $10-per-vehicle rate may become $20. Williamsburg Spa The 20,000-square-foot Spa of Colonial Williamsburg is open. thespaofcolonialwilliamsburg.com No-frills Jamaica SuperClubs' basic brand, Rooms, gets a second property, in Negril, in December. roomsresorts.com Disney shift Smoking is no longer allowed in any Disney hotel rooms or timeshares in Orlando. It'll only be OK at certain outdoor spaces. Riu in Aruba The Spanish chain now has a hotel in Aruba, the Riu Palace Aruba. riu.com Movin' movies Austin's Rolling Roadshow is screening movies all over this summer, including North by Northwest at Mount Rushmore. rollingroadshow.com

Finding the cheapest airfare is a game--and often, a maddening one at that. Flight prices fluctuate all the time, and the only way to monitor all the ups and downs is with frequent searches. This can obviously lead to shopping fatigue: Who has the time to punch dates and destinations into a handful of booking engines several times a day? A few websites have begun doing the searching for you. The best option of all may be one that came out of beta-testing this morning, Yapta.com, whose entire mission is to handle all of your searches for you. Membership is free. Once you join, plug in your dates and routes, as well as a price threshold. The site will do several price searches per day, and as soon as the flight drops to that specified price, you'll receive an e-mail alert. Members can also download Yapta's software and get messages instantaneously on their desktops. Yapta not only tracks flights you might want to buy, it tracks flights you've already bought. Why? Because occasionally fares drop so low that airline ticket holders are entitled to a cash refund (minus a change fee of $100 or so). It's rare but does happen. Yapta also tells members when they're entitled to a flight voucher from an airline: It's a little-known rule with some airlines--Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, United, and US Airways--that a ticket-holding passenger can get a flight voucher if a sale is announced and prices drop below the fare the passenger paid. Getting the airline to cough up cash or a voucher involves some red tape, as you'd expect. But the only chance of getting anything back from the airline is by tracking fares after you've already paid for your flight--and nobody wants to do that. So Yapta, it seems, will certainly come in handy. I've been given a sneak preview of the site and have been testing it out. A key thing to note: For Yapta to start working for you, you've got to plug in exact flight numbers and times. The service searches for fares on that specific trip only; it doesn't search fares for an entire date. That's good if you'll only be happy with that specific flight, but not so good if you're flexible with times and are only looking for a cheap fare.

In the post-An Inconvenient Truth world, flying has been targeted as one of the larger culprits that contribute to global warming. To counter-act carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions from flights, a new breed of business sells carbon offsets; the money is used to help avert climate change, often by planting trees or investing in renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. All you need to do is visit a website and provide trip details to calculate how much greenhouse gas your flight is producing. In seconds, you find out how much to pay in order to be "carbon neutral." While the trend is certainly a positive one, figuring out where to give your money is confusing. A Google search turns up dozens of carbon-offset companies--many of which are for-profit--and it's difficult to determine which are worthwhile. There's little consistency in the way the organizations calculate the emissions generated by a given flight. Prices charged for offsets also vary widely. For example, TerraPass, a California-based for-profit outfit, estimates that a Boston-Los Angeles round trip produces 1.02 tons of CO2, and charges $10 to offset it; German nonprofit Atmosfair, meanwhile, says that the flight creates 2.58 tons of CO2, and charges $65 for the offset. Other carbon-offset outfits request a flat amount without factoring in the exact mileage or the type of plane being flown. Critics point out that offsets fall far short of solving global warming. "It's hard to truly offset your carbon impact," says Anja Kollmuss, the lead author of a recent study from the Tufts Climate Initiative that evaluates carbon-offset companies. "To really make a difference, people need to fly less and make lifestyle changes." Still, while the study cautions that fliers shouldn't see carbon offsets as a way to buy "environmental pardons," it does allow that offsets might help spur innovation--including the financing of carbon-reducing projects--that otherwise wouldn't happen. So which offsetters are most effective and deserve your donations? "It's a mixed bag," says Julia Bovey of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "You have to look carefully at where the money goes." Asking a couple of questions helps narrow the field. How are donations used? Only give money to organizations that will disclose the details of the projects they invest in, the percentage of funds that goes to those projects (versus regular business costs), and their status as a nonprofit (or not). They should also reveal how they calculate offsets--some factor in plane type, seat class, and other details, while others are less precise. Are results guaranteed? Delta Air Lines made news recently by becoming the first U.S. carrier to offer carbon offsets on its website. The airline gives passengers the option of donating a flat $5.50 (for any domestic round trip) or $11 (for international trips) to its partner The Conservation Fund. Most of that money is used to plant trees, however, which is less than ideal. According to Brendan Bell, the Sierra Club Global Warming and Energy Program's representative in Washington, D.C., organizations that invest in renewable energy (like solar, geo-thermal, and wind) have a definite, measurable impact and are therefore a better bet than companies focused on reforestation--because the results of planting trees are difficult to verify. The Conservation Fund, which since 2000 has planted more than nine million trees that'll reportedly capture nearly 13 million tons of CO2, obviously disagrees; for more info, see conservationfund.org. Is there a seal of approval? The fledgling carbon-offset industry is largely unregulated, so before you give any organization money, find out if an objective, trustworthy source vouches for it. Created under the auspices of the World Wildlife Fund, the Gold Standard is the strictest and best-vetted system of verifying carbon-offset projects. Outfits that meet the standard usually mention the fact prominently and display the official seal on their websites. If an organization's projects aren't approved by the Gold Standard, find out if another trustworthy third party has verified the quality. Do you have a pet cause? As with all giving, you should give to an organization that's important to you. Some offset outfits allow people to steer donations one way or another. Carbonfund.org, which has begun a partnership with Orbitz, lets donors direct their money to renewable energy, reforestation, energy-efficiency projects, or some combination thereof. Other outfits are attractive because they focus on certain initiatives--NativeEnergy, for instance, helps Native American farmers. By all means, support your favorite cause: Just be aware that environmental impact varies widely.

*Actually, it should really be "Our Montreal" Play Created by two local artists, FRAG on The Main is an ever-growing series of collage plaques mounted on buildings all along St-Laurent; it tells the story of The Main--from the Guilbault Garden to the Montreal Hunt Club--by uncovering its lost and hidden fragments. The one tourist site that's truly central to Montrealers, both literally and figuratively, is Mount Royal Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. There's activity year-round, from jogging and cycling to skating, cross-country skiing, and tobogganing. It's also one of the best places to take a secluded path and escape from the hubbub. More serene still is the wonderfully Victorian Mount Royal Cemetery, which adjoins the park and doubles as a stunning arboretum. Founded by Seagram's heir Phyllis Lambert, the Canadian Centre for Architecture has beautifully curated exhibitions, an internationally renowned architecture library, film screenings and lectures, and a top-notch bookstore. The Lachine Canal, once the cradle of Canada's industrial revolution, is much quieter these days--it's been turned into a National Historic Site and green zone that stretches nine miles from the Old Port to Lake St-Louis to the west. There's certainly no better way to get from the Old Port to Atwater Market, Montreal's other celebrated farmers market, with its iconic deco market hall. Also along the canal is Papeterie Saint-Armand, a small-scale paper mill that's been producing fine papers for over 25 years. And when you're done touring the canal, the place for a refreshment is Paul Patates, where you can have an excellent all-dressed toasté (a grilled hot dog with the works), a poutine featuring the famous fries, and a bracing Bertrand spruce beer, the Quebecois soft drink extraordinaire. On Île-Sainte-Hélène, known for the starring role it played during Expo 67, you can still see traces of Montreal's mod moment, like the Buckminster Fuller Dome, but it's also worth visiting to check out the Moorish towers that anchor the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to the island. Cinémathèque Québécoise houses exhibitions and shows films from around the world, with provincial and Canadian works a specialty. Around the corner is the downtown home of the National Film Board of Canada, a leader in experimental, animated, documentary, and childrens' film production for almost 70 years. The main attraction there is the CinéRobothèque, where a full-fledged robot helps you watch any one of the 9,000 films made or distributed by the NFB. Aprés cinema, our top pick for a bite is a burger and a mocha shake at La Paryse. Thankfully, the hype has died down a bit since Pitchfork, The New York Times, Spin, and others anointed Montreal the latest indie-rock "it" town, but we still have a vibrant music scene. In many ways, ground zero for this explosion of creativity was Casa del Popolo, a café, bar, and performance space that has added an annex across the street that includes a larger, more-glam venue (La Sala Rossa) and a good tapas restaurant (La Sala Rosa). Every June the owners celebrate their good fortune with Suoni Per Il Popolo, a monthlong festival pairing avant-jazz greats with local avant-rock heroes. Come autumn, Pop Montreal, our other indie music festival, rolls out plenty of good cheer, plus a film fest and an alt-crafts fair. Two places that are all about the lazy days of summer are Le Bilboquet, where lines for the ice cream (in flavors like tire d'érable, maple-syrup taffy) stretch down the block, and Gibeau Orange Julep, where you can sample the house elixir in the shadow of a three-story orange built in 1964 (and in the company of hot rods on Wednesday nights). Le Cheval Blanc and Bílý Kun (French and Czech for "white horse") are our two favorite Montreal watering holes. Both combine tasteful eclecticism with microbrew enthusiasm. And while the wine-bar population continues to grow rapidly, the best of the lot is still BU. For those looking to dance, Zoobizarre's hilariously Gothic confines host rock shows and DJ nights by such local notables as Les Georges Leningrad and Ghislain Poirier, the city's reigning beatmaster. Finally, there's no getting around the fact that in Montreal, "Winter is my homeland," as the song goes. Activity doesn't slow down in the least during our long, cold winters, and nothing gets to the essence of life in the city better than ice-skating on Parc Lafontaine's serpentine pond or Mount Royal Park's Beaver Lake, careening madly down one of Mount Royal's hills on a toboggan, or watching a pickup hockey game in one of the countless neighborhood parks. FRAG on The Mainatsa.qc.ca/pages/fragonthemain.asp Canadian Centre for Architecture 1920 rue Baile, 514/939-7000, cca.qc.ca Atwater Market 138 ave. Atwater Papeterie Saint-Armand 3700 rue St-Patrick, 514/931-8338, st-armand.com, Fri. only Paul Patates 0760 rue Charlevoix, 514/937-2751 Buckminster Fuller Dome (Biosphere)biosphere.ec.gc.ca Cinémathèque Québécoise 335 blvd. de Maisonneuve Est, 514/842-9763, cinematheque.qc.ca National Film Board of Canada 1564 rue St.-Denis, 514/496-6887, nfb.ca La Paryse 302 rue Ontario Est, 514/842-2040 Casa del Popolo 4873 blvd. St.-Laurent, 514/284-3804, casadelpopolo.com La Sala Rossa & La Sala Rosa 4848 blvd. St-Laurent, 514/284-0122 Pop Montrealpopmontreal.com Le Bilboquet 1311 rue Bernard Ouest, 514/276-0414 Gibeau Orange Julep 7700 blvd. Décarie, 514/738-7486 Cheval Blanc 809 rue Ontario Est, 514/522-0211 Bílý Kun 354 rue Mont-Royal Est, 514/845-5392 BU 5245 blvd. St-Laurent, 514/276-0249, bu-mtl.com Zoobizarre 6388 rue St-Hubert, zoobizarre.org