Back in the Big Apple

I know, I know....... shame on me. Big time. I could take this opportunity to touch briefly on the last several months of my blogging absence in an effort to explain why I've been so delinquent, but I think it's best just to pick up and proceed. If you know me well, you know what I've been up to. And if you don't know me..... well, then I'm not exactly sure what you're doing reading this blog in the first place. So shoo, stranger... shoo!

Moving on.... literally. To New York! In my first week and a half back at The Palace, I'm already off and running. I am working with a friend to hopefully encourage the New York Hotel Association to implement a sustainability program, met with the Consul General of Haiti to discuss how the hospitality industry can assist them during this most difficult time (especially with America's focus having shifted almost entirely (and understandably) to the oil spill), and contracted a new bottled water company to replace our current vendor (BOOOOO Fiji! - more on this later). The point is, reader, I'm all over the place. I'm like Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Catch Me If You Can' - only instead of stealing millions of dollars and running from the IRS, I'm doing what I can to preserve our natural environment :) In between sips of pinot and episodes of Criminal Minds, of course.

I am in no way trying to 'toot my own horn', I am simply thrilled at the momentum I've gained in such a short period of time. I feel like Dorothy when she was on her way to meet the Wizard. I'm on the brink of something wonderful... and have the potential to make the kind of impact I have always dreamed of.

I tip my hat off to the ever-witty and eloquent Sir Winston Churchill, who put it perfectly when he said, 'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give'. And, I'm going to give it all I've got.

Composting in Style!

Here's the situation: You're at work, and you need to blow your nose. Or toss your coffee cup. Or throw away the quarter of a bagel you aren't going to finish. What do you do?

• A) Get up to find the nearest compost bin (which is, to be honest, not so near...) - or -
• B) Chuck it into the trash

If you're like most people, you'll choose the later option. Nobody wants to get up time after time again to throw out one tiny tissue, and I can't blame them. Time is money and we all have better things to do than making multiple runs to dispose of these items. Even I, the "Composting Queen", have been known to throw out a tissue or two in my day. That's why I'm SO excited about my newest "green" initiative. Check this out, friends: I'm ordering a bunch of these for my co-workers in an effort to solve the above dilemma:

This bucket (which anybody can fit into their office as it's only 10 in x 8 in x 8 in) is ventilated on all sides, including the top and bottom. It allows food waste to breathe which reduces the foul odor that other composting bins are unable to mask. It's genious, really. Just empty your biodegradable bag once a week into the nearest large composting bin, and re-line the small bucket with a new BioBag. (BioBags are only $3.29 for a box of 25 bags).

Now there's really no excuse for trashing all of your compostables. No more "I don't have time to run to the compost bin 10 times a day"... because now, you don't have to!

But wait... it gets better! I've done extensive research on pricing of both the buckets and the biodegradable bags. The best deals can be found here: http://www.buygreen.com/biobagmaxairiicompostingbuckets.aspx.

There. You're now only a click away :) Go Green!!!

The Great Pacific Garbage Catastrophe

Let's do an exercise. I want you to think of the largest pile of trash you can possibly imagine. Now multiply that by 100. Then go ahead and multiply that by 100, and you might just be starting to scratch the surface of comprehending the size of the world's most massive collection of man-made debris.

Reader, meet The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. At least 100 feet in height, it's a mass of waste that floats within the North Pacific Gyre - the center of a number of currents that create a circular effect, pulling clothing, lighters, plastic bags, toys, toothbrushes, wrappers, bottles, fishnets and other pollutants together. Located between the California Coast and the Hawai'ian islands, this mass is estimated to weigh 3.5 million tons, and is at least the size of Texas (yes, I said at LEAST)... and quite possibly as large as 1.5 times the size of the entire Unites States. (Go ahead and take a moment to digest that before reading on). Of course the size is constantly changing, with pieces breaking off and either dropping to the ocean floor or drifting to one day find itself on a faraway coastline.

Surprisingly, the patch was only discovered a dozen years ago. It's beyond ecologically detrimental - with the plastic to sea life ratio standing at a whopping 6:1. That's probably because the local mammals and birds are ingesting its contents and getting caught in its tangled mass.

It was the discovery of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that lead me to being together a team of colleagues to clean up Ocean Beach back in October of 2008. Though our efforts were minuscule in the grand picture, it was an amazing and very successful event. I have personally developed a zero tolerance policy for people who are too lazy to wait for a trash can... and become increasingly irritated with each plastic bottle that I see being thrown into the trash as opposed to being properly recycled. Call me the Recycling Nazi. I'm just that much of a stickler.

What I'm hoping that this entry will do is encourage you to make one change in your life - small as it may be - to better the environment. Does your office not have enough recycling receptacles? Call in and request for more. Find yourself collecting too many paper and plastic bags? Bring your own re-usable bags to the grocery store. Don't have any? I'll give you some - I have an abundance! Volunteer at a local tree-planting or beach clean-up. Offer to recycle that Coke can you see somebody chucking into a trash bin. Turn off your lights when you're not around. Un-plug your cell phone charger when you're not using it, because guess what? As long as it's plugged in, it's still pulling power.

There are a million things you can do! The opportunities are endless. Make these small changes habits - because these are the types of habits that very soon become a lifestyle.

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!!!!