These kinds of projections are already weighing on the minds of insurers, city planners and developers. See this story in The New York Times.

USA Today found that a small but growing number of Americans are coupling their desire to help others with their desire to travel. In fact, the new phrase "voluntourism" has been born.

Surveys conducted recently by Orbitz, Travelocity and the Travel Industry Association of America confirm that consumers are becoming more interested in vacations with a volunteerism aspect, also known as "voluntourism."

Opportunities that once existed largely with nonprofit activist groups are being adopted by a wide range of travel agencies and tour operators, too. Sally Brown, who heads the Indianapolis not-for-profit group Ambassadors for Children, said the number of travel organizations of various kinds that offer voluntourism trips has probably doubled in the past three years.

Go to this Web site to learn more about voluntourism.

Here is a sample of what you can do to help:

Globe Aware, a nonprofit organization, currently offers volunteer vacations in Peru, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cuba, Nepal, Brazil, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These short-term (one week) adventures in service focus on cultural-awareness and sustainability, and are often compared to a "mini peace corps." All program costs, including the cost of airfare, are tax-deductible. [...]

You need no special skills nor do you need to speak any foreign language. Immerse yourself in a new culture. Enjoy befriending people in new and interesting countries and experience the reward of helping them on meaningful community projects.

Click here to view a trailer from a documentary on one of Globe Aware's programs.

Hospitality Net says:

Travelocity's annual forecast poll found that 11 percent of respondents plan to volunteer during their vacations in 2007 -- up from 6 percent in 2006. From community outreach such as building homes and schools to environment-related projects, people are simply looking for ways to give back and get more involved in important causes.

Travelocity has created a grant program as part of its Travel For Good initiative aimed at travelers yearning for a richer and more meaningful travel experience and is calling for entries from deserving volunteers. With a growing optimism among people that they can have a positive impact through travel, Travelocity is helping with the launch of the grant program.

Under the Travel For Good initiative, first launched in August 2006, Travelocity began a program called Change Ambassadors to help bring the idea of "voluntourism" to a broader, mainstream audience. Key components of the Change Ambassadors program are consumer and employee grants that will be awarded to people who wish to help others through volunteering, but do not have the financial means to take a volunteer vacation. Travelocity will award two $5,000 grants per quarter to customers and one $5,000 grant per quarter to employees.

How to Alter Online Book-Sales Figures

The Wall Street Journal provides an inside story on how booksellers jigger online sales figures. The story also explains what sales ranks really mean. My book is currently ranked 32,847; however, when college students are ordered to buy it for school in the spring or fall, it can rise 20,000 spots in a week or so. You can almost hear the cheerleading squad shout, "We're number 12,000! We're number 12,000!"

I know some writers who check their ranking daily -- even hourly.

Late last year, my friend Sree Sreenivasan explained how other sales-ranking engines work.

Here is something that speaks to the times in which we live. CNN had no trouble finding kids who gave up MySpace and/or Facebook for Lent because they wanted to give up something that would be hard to do.

Thirty-one million households, nearly three in 10 Americans, do not have Internet access and don't plan to in the next year. A new study by Park's Associates finds these folks either don't like what they found online or can't afford the computer or access. It might be interesting to tell their story. What, if anything do they think they miss? Do they pay more than they should for goods and services? Could they save enough by having online access to actually pay for them?

Here is a really interesting narrated slideshow that will demonstrate the power of simple pictures and a story well told. It is a slideshow from photojournalist Karen Ballard, the pool photographer who was chosen to photograph Saddam Hussein on the occasion of his first appearance before a judge a few years ago. Watch how even though the production is not fancy, the quality of the story she tells is so compelling that I didn't even consider turning away. Content is king. Always.

Editor's Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected.