Home Publisher's Point of View Loux’s ‘easy green living’ Provides Roadmap for Healthier Operations

Loux’s ‘easy green living’ Provides Roadmap for Healthier Operations

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In the little more than two years that I have been writing this column, I have received a number of requests to read and write about new books. Up until this point, I have written about and recommended just one book: “Green to Gold,” a book co-authored by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S.Winston. There is another book that I would like to recommend for anyone interested in making their lodging operation a greener and healthier one. The book is called “easy green living” and the author is Renée Loux. Even though the book’s focus is on things you can do at home, the tips the author provides also apply to any lodging establishment.

“Small choices, like using biodegradable soap and detergent, recycled paper, organic cotton towels and sheets, and energy-efficient lightbulbs; bigger choices, like hybrid cars, solar panels, organic mattresses, and green materials for home renovation; and simple practices, like using cold water to wash clothes, setting the thermostat a few degrees lower, and bringing a cloth bag to the grocery store—all add up to a major change,” Loux says in the introduction to her book.

Loux’s “easy green living” is filled with valuable information about cleaning products, water conservation, waste reduction, energy conservation, and even helps to define the many terms we come across in our attempts to live more responsibly—e.g., “organic,” “natural,” etc. Loux explains the environmental impact of the food choices we make, why we should all avoid volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the products we purchase, and how to provide a healthier environment in the bedroom (the guestroom).

Sample of Tips from ‘easy green living’

Here are some specific nuggets gleaned from Loux’s 2008 book published by Rodale, Inc.:

• Start small. Small changes add up to great change. Try changing one thing a month. Start with one product.
• Choose soaps and body washes that are plant based and free of synthetic fragrances and colors.
• Choosing unbleached coffee filters is a grand act that requires little effort. Bleaching paper with chlorine—coffee filters included—is a notorious source of truly malevolent dioxins, which are some of the most toxic substances on the planet.
• A leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons of water a day. Add some drops of cranberry juice (not chemical dyes) to the tank to check for leaks.

• Houseplants literally grow fresh air by producing clean, fresh oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide and chemicals such as formaldehyde and benzene.
• Purchase energy-efficient appliances. Refrigerators and washing machines more than 12 years old can use twice the operating energy of today’s energy-efficient models.

Thanks to Renée Loux for writing such an informative book.

New Green Lodging News Blog

Here is a recent entry from the new Green Lodging News blog. Be sure to check it out at http://greenlodgingnews.blogspot.com/. Bookmark it!

Earlier this month, I completed an article on guestroom amenities with the following headline: ‘Green’ Definitions Can Confuse Conscientious Amenity Purchasers. (Click here for the article.) In the article I described how difficult it is to determine how environmentally friendly an amenity is. The reason is that terms such as “natural,” “organic,” “pure,” and “biodegradable” are used rather loosely. I referred to not only the amenity ingredients but also the bottles themselves. While I described the reasons it is important to reduce bottle waste, I did not go into much detail in regard to why true natural, organic and biodegradable amenity ingredients are important.

One reader, Rick Reibstein from the Office of Technical Assistance for Toxics Use Reduction in Boston (Rick.Reibstein@state.ma.us), helped me out and wrote the following in response to my article: “I thought your questions were great, but it’s important for people to think about the impact on aquatic and microbiological life. All that stuff goes down the drain. If it doesn’t break down by the time it gets to the sewage treatment facility, or into the river, or into the back lawn by way of the septic leaching field, and it has aquatic or microbiological toxicity, it’s going to kill the little bugs who break down the sewage or septage, or which keep the soil healthy, and/or living organisms in the water.”

A very good point. Too often we take for granted what goes down the drain.

Plan Now for Fall, 2009 Advertising

If you are a supplier selling green products, be sure to call me at (440) 243-2055 to discuss your advertising plans for the fall and winter. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.

As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.

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