Terry begins by walking us through his fiasco in trying to rent a hybrid for the trip (the one that the company owned was unavailable; it costs $799/wk to rent). He settles by getting a high MPG Hyundai Sonata.
Terry and his wife stop at several "Travel Green" certified lodgings and restaurants. Most places however are primarily certified because they serve local food, which greatly reduces transportation costs/pollution. Thus their carbon footprint is minimized.
One ski resort pays more money to assure that its ski lifts are powered by wind energy. The owner, a former renewable-energy guru from California, aims to promote wind energy by doing this. The resort has also built a new spa with non-toxic insulation, and all compact fluorescent light bulbs.
From there, Terry explores several other, similar lodgings/ restaurants, and the piece begins to drag on, with fewer interesting case studies in his adventure and less personal appeal (to his defense, this did appear in the Travel section).
While this piece shows us how we can patronize these eco-friendly attractions, we're left (at least I was) wondering: Why can't Holiday Inn change it's light bulbs? Why can't Chile's or TGI Friday's cut down on their carbon footprint by limiting the amount food transportation?
As is a trend with many of these Environmental pieces, the reader is shown a case study, an anomaly to the trend. I want to see more pieces demanding simple changes for big companies--that will make a real difference.
Find the entire article here.
1 comment:
Evan,
I couldn't agree more. I often read stories about people who do a lot of things to ensure that their carbon footprint is minimized but I feel that big companies that could help make big changes are doing nothing. Sometimes I feel like a slacker as well after I read an article like this because I hardly ever do anything green besides recycle.
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