I went to the second annual World Savers Congress yesterday on the greening of the tourism industry. As many of you know, energy-efficient buildings, green hotels, and eco-resorts are all the rage, and I thought the event might be interesting.
The panel I attended was on green real estate with Bill McDonough, and representatives from Citi Realty, Celebrity Cruises, Four Seasons Resorts, Conde Nast, and the Proximity Hotel, which is hailed as the “greenest hotel in America.”
One of the main themes of the panel, and the conference on the whole, was that many of these ‘new’ developments in the building world are using technology developed over 20 years ago, but there hasn’t been the political will, and the economies of scale, to roll them out full-bore. A true statement, but sadly, very little information about these technologies was conveyed to the attendees. Perhaps because this was more of a ‘pat-ourselves-on-the-back- for-all-we’ve-done-for-the-planet conference, or was for an audience new to “ being green,” but I was a little disappointed. No mention of scenarios in which international airline travel would be curtailed due to the ten-fold effect high-altitude aircraft emissions have on global climate change, for example.
Other items of note:
Celebrity Cruises, one of the mega cruise line companies, is soon to be rolling out a new energy efficient ship. If an eco-boat that gets 1/2 mpg instead of 1/4 mpg, you may be thinking, “What’s the big deal?” A ‘green cruise linier’ does seem like an oxymoron, but bear with me. The process is the important part. In contrast to how most large ships are constructed, Celebrity Cruises built their hull first, paying close attention to energy-efficiency of the shape, before designing the guest quarters. This allowed them to identify the best method of slicing through the water, much like a fish. With a longer deck to keel length, and with a narrower width than its counterparts, this new ‘jewel of the sea’ will have a slightly less egregious affect on the planet than most tourist-carriers. Also they are using river rocks to bolster the ice in the buffets. For those of you who have done makeshift saunas before, you know these rocks tend to hold the cold (and the hot) for long amounts of time, thus reducing the amount of water and freezing needed to satiate ‘starving’ passengers.
Ashley Judd was one of the keynote speakers, and she primarily spoke of her efforts to highlight the lack of clean drinking water in remote African towns, as well as her organization’s partnership with Proctor & Gamble to create a product that can instantly purify even the most polluted of river water. She even demonstrated its efficacy up on stage. While you, in addition to Fox News, might bemoan celebrity involvement in movements they might abandon when they’re called to the next $100M movie shoot, Ashley seemed very motivated and to be devoting herself wholeheartedly to these efforts. Seems even easier to stay charged up, though, when you’re working with a population that includes the ten million children every day that don’t live to see their 5th birthday…
Queen Rania of Jordan spoke as well, but all I can really say is that she looks exactly like the actress Amanda Peet. One interesting statistic she mentioned was that the Middle East is experiencing a 13% increase in tourism this year, higher than anywhere else in the world. Well, that’s because people actually WANTED to go the other places over the last ten years! The Middle East, and I’m guessing she didn’t get the memo, has been on war footing ever since we re-invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. “Honey, should we go to Aruba or Anbar Province this year?”
Memorable quotes from the day:
- “It’s not sustainable for the species to make people look ugly.” Dennis Quaintance, CEO of Proximity Hotel, on the problems with some types of energy efficient lighting.
- “In our world, ‘asphalt’ is two words assigning blame,” Bill McDonough on construction materials.
- “This stuff is all real, and going on while we sit here in our pretty dresses and well-tailored suits.” Ashley Judd on the lack of fresh drinking water in parts of Africa.
- On Bill McDonough’s problem with the word ‘sustainable’: “If I asked you to describe your relationship with your wife, and you said, ‘sustainable,’ I would say, ‘I’m sorry…’”
Veni, vidi, vendi carbo sustituo.
"I came, I saw, I sold carbon offsets."
- Julius Caesar
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And now for some other news:
Who wants to make bets on when Google and Wal-Mart join forces to rule Earth?
First debate on Friday… maybe.
Priceless quote: "I don't like to be in this position, asking for things and, you know, answering to the American taxpayer," Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson informed the Senate banking committee yesterday.
The GOP platform needs some work. My, how things change quickly in these modern times…
Another faith-based initiative.
Of the 104,000 chemicals used in products, only 30% have been tested for human health effects.. Ahhh, so THAT’s why the Europeans are pissing everyone off with their REACH project…
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