Dreaming in Green

Within the last year, I have become passionate about everything 'Green'.  Since accepting my current position with The Ritz-Carlton, I have become increasingly invested in reducing the carbon footprint of the hotel, and am now (with a great deal of help from my boss), spear-heading our property's REACT team (Ritz Environmental Action Conservation Team).  Whooo!  Now that's a mouth full.  

I'm thankful for this undertaking for many reasons, but mostly because as challenging as it can be to properly educate 500 employees on the appropriate recycling and composting practices, I myself have learned more than I could have imagined on the subject and am now one of the most environmentally conscious people that I know, both in and out of the office.  (No, I don't have a home-made compost heap steaming in the back of my building.  And yes, I still by leather shoes.)  Sorry guys, there are times when fashion simply will prevail.  I'm not by any means an 'over-the-top', tree-hugging hipster, but I certainly do my part in ensuring that everything I discard of ends up in its rightful place.  To help you do the same, I'm using my blog as a medium to share helpful (and easy!) facts and hints on how to stay green, and I've even included a simple few below.  

1. Did you know that if every American recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save about 25 million trees every year? This is just one reason why it's so important to ensure that we recycle whenever possible. **UPDATED** I had previously suggested that you find your news elsewhere (ie: TV, online, etc), however someone was kind enough to remind me of how vulnerable that the newspaper industry is in this struggling economy, and what an important role that they play in supplying the stories that are then published in other media.  While I am not discouraging you to take in your news by paper (lets be honest - most of what you see on TV is warped anyways), please recycle them when you are done!!!  :)
2. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.  It also causes 20% less air pollution than making a new bottle from raw materials. 
3. Do you have a self-cleaning oven?  The next time you want to use that feature, do so right after cooking.  That way you take advantage of the heat that has already accumulated :)

Last but not least, I hear rumors buzzing that an old friend of ours is ready to admit defeat after singing that same old song for almost 40 years now.  Apparently he's come to realize that it is, in fact, easy being green :)

Now, make Kermit proud....  go forth and recycle!!!!