Restaurants use large amounts of energy and water and produce vast amounts of waste. “There’s huge potential for increasing sustainability in the hospitality industry as we are a huge user, and abuser, of energy,” says Allen Someck of the New York State Restaurant Association.
Someck is the director of a new Green Restaurant Initiative grant awarded to the NYS Restaurant Association by the Environmental Protection Agency. The purpose of the grant is to educate restaurant owners on energy conservation and sustainability.
“Our focus will be on how to reduce energy, water, and hazardous waste at the restaurant level while supporting each individual restaurant’s bottom line,” said Someck. “It’s a way for us to facilitate the green movement in the hospitality sector.”
The grant includes providing a series of eight conservation trainings for restaurant owners over a period of 18 months. Trainings include presentations from energy industry leaders and departments as well as sustainability experts. In addition, audits will be performed at each restaurant in order to customize conservation recommendations and energy efficiency tips.
“We have found the best way to implement change is to work with restaurants on a one-on-one basis. We’ll be making recommendations for short and long term investments,” says Someck. “Some of the recommendations will be immediate and easy to implement. Others will require more planning.”
Among the innovative clean technologies discussed at the training series will be an affordable energy management system that allows a restaurant owner to control the restaurant’s energy system, including temperature and compression levels, remotely from a laptop.
A big step in the right direction, I’d say. Kudos to the NYS Restaurant Association for leading New York restaurants into a greener, more ecofriendly future.
Those of you over 40 surely have seen Ireland's willowy, shapely physique on at least one of the three covers -- including the bestselling 25th anniversary edition -- of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She appeared in the SI cheesecake magazine for 13 consecutive years, which must be some kind of record. Ireland began modeling while attending high school in Santa Barbara, and says it was "good money for not a lot of work."
With LOHAS spreading across the globe over recent years, LOHAS Journal thought it timely to reflect on what is driving the phenomenon globally, some of the key differences in interpretation across the world, and what binds LOHAS and LOHASians together—wherever they are.
President Obama is one impressive orator but according to that speech, he plans to: fix the economy; implement a new health care policy; complete the war in Afghanistan/Iran; rebuild our standing internationally; help impoverished nations; among other important problems to address - not to mention, foster the green movement and bring renewable energy to America.
I am one of many who were wondering whatever happened to T. Boone Pickens' wind energy initiative? Well, the answer is oil prices that were $125 a barrel ended up around $80 and thus the math no longer works. Pickens had 648 wind turbines on order from GE, he was able to negotiate that down to 324 and those will indeed be arriving on his doorstep. He will deploy them but the problem with wind energy remains transmission. Of course, Pickens has now moved on to natural gas as our savior. This concept had a number of supporters in the room but was far from unanimous.
The final speaker was Energy Secretary Steven Chu. I was hoping he would address the important question raised by Rio Tinto's Albanese: now that the world's leading companies have braced themselves for assigning a cost to carbon emissions, when will that be, what will that entail, and how will it be administered? His answer: I am optimistic that energy legislation addressing this issue will be passed this year. And that America still can win the worldwide race to lead the green economy. "The Clean Energy movement is ours to lose. China is moving quickly; they see this industry as a huge export opportunity," he added. "This is an incredible economic opportunity for the United States. We have to rebuild our energy infrastructure to make us energy independent."
As consciousness about environmental and social issues rises, so does the number of people who would like a job with purpose. But how do you become Director of Sustainability or Chief Environmental Officer at a Fortune 500? What is the best path to becoming VP of Strategic Marketing and Fun or Head of Innovation and Ecology at an environmentally friendly company?
The term “green” and all of its variations—”going green,” “green building,” and “greening your home”—was so ubiquitous in the late 2000's that it received the most nominations for the “Words Banished From the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse, and General Uselessness” list. At first this accolade might appear to be bad news, but such recognition indicates that the concept has reached significant market penetration.
More often then not I get emails and calls asking if there are any positions available at LOHAS. I also get many emails and meetings over coffee to discuss options with collegues who are between things which is the PC way of saying they too are out of work. The fact that there are more people looking for fewer poistions makes it a competitive arena and intimidating. Plus many don't want to sacrifice their LOHAS values for the sake of food on the table. To aid those in search of a future LOHAS employer we have comprised a list of links that you may find useful to your desired field of work.
The design of the building itself is first rate, great viewing even with big crowds, especially where you walk "through" the huge tanks with giant fish passing over your head - it appears the six inch thick glass is strong enough. The famous Opera House is even more breathtaking in person, and the indoor views are as stunning as the exterior. You can climb to the top of the giant Sydney Harbor Bridge on foot, try that in the States with our lawsuit-happy society. The Art Gallery of New South Wales offers a world class collection spanning the centuries. The champagnes, petit syrah, and shiraz continue to get better and better. The food is generally good, and a growing variety of organic and natural choices are offered. As for the customer service, well, I'll circle back on that in a moment.
Some of the finest hiking in the world, great whitewater rafting, and of course world class skiing. You’d think those pursuits would transfer over to local policies that are fairly restrictive on development, and an overall culture of green. Certainly everybody I met on the hiking trails and at the river looked the part, and it seemed that they were concerned about all things environmental. It wasn’t until I got to really tour the area, which includes the ski mountain as well as Old Town, the main drag filled with businesses and shopping, that some practices I observed began to raise my eyebrows.
the area, yet there are construction projects planned for what seems like every empty lot. Hasn’t the housing crisis taught us anything? Here’s hoping that a revelation will occur and the developers of these coming projects will at least design and build them using sustainable materials. I am not trying to attack Park City, I actually love the place. But it was a real surprise, and disappointment, to find that this gorgeous resort community has a long way to go before it can claim to be not only a white but green wonderland.
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