MINNEAPOLIS/ST.PAUL—Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found most containers employed for storage and transportation of used fluorescent lamps to recycling centers do not provide necessary levels of protection against mercury vapors emitted from broken lamps. The release of mercury vapors, which can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin, presents an environmental and occupational hazard for workers involved with handling and transport. Mercury is a toxic chemical that can lead to neurological damage. The results of the study were published in a recent issue of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. The...

MADISON, WIS.—Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, announced that all its U.S. properties have achieved Green Seal certification for the lodging portion of its operations, making Great Wolf Lodge brand resorts the first and only national hotel chain to earn that distinction. Green Seal is a 20-year-old, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a more sustainable world. Green Seal created a rigorous, science-based environmental standard for the industry, which includes nearly three dozen environmentally responsible criteria for lodging properties. Along with the Green Seal announcement, Great Wolf Lodge executives took the occasion to unveil...

NEW YORK—As part of its commitment to the environment, Loews Hotels encourages even its furriest guests to do their part in promoting responsible, sustainable consumption (literally). The new Loews “Grrreen Dog” package features a specially created “Dog Gone Green” room service meal, a veterinarian approved healthy feast which mixes locally grown ingredients from neighborhood farms with a lot of love. The “Grrreen Dog” package will launch on Earth Day (April 22) and features several additional Earth-friendly components. Available April 22 to September 5, 2009, “Grrreen Dog” package rates vary by hotel, starting at $119 per night. The package includes: • A one-night...

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIF.—Montage Beverly Hills, the 201-room luxury hotel that opened November 2008 in Beverly Hills, Calif., has earned Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED for New Construction rating system. This is the first certified ultra-luxury hotel in Southern California for LEED for New Construction, one of just four Gold certified hotels worldwide designated by this third-party benchmarking system designed to encourage the design, construction and operation of more sustainable buildings. Montage Beverly Hills is also the first newly constructed mixed-use hotel and residential project to be LEED certified as a single development, denoting it...

NEWTON, MASS.—TripAdvisor announced the results of its environmentally-friendly travel survey of more than 1,200 U.S. respondents. Seventy-six percent of travelers sometimes incorporate green choices in their travel plans and 27 percent of respondents intentionally made environmentally-friendly travel choices in the past year. Fifty-two percent regularly find it challenging to incorporate green choices into their travel plans and 44 percent of travelers find that environmentally-friendly options are not readily available when traveling. Forty-five percent of travelers won’t go green if it means spending more green. However, 27 percent are willing to spend $50 or more to be environmentally-friendly when traveling. Thirty-three...

SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco’s Orchard Hotel joins its sister property—the Orchard Garden Hotel—in green certification, earning LEED-EB (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for an existing building by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). San Francisco’s only hotel to earn this honor, the Orchard Hotel is the second hotel in California and fourth hotel in the world with this certification. LEED-EB is the USGBC’s system for operating high performance buildings dedicated to whole-building cleaning and maintenance issues, recycling programs, exterior maintenance programs and systems upgrades. The Orchard Hotel includes 104 guestrooms and is located just two blocks from Union Square...

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.—Scottsdale-based Forever Resorts announced the development of the United States’ first LEED certified floating green building at Nevada’s Cottonwood Cove Resort & Marina on Lake Mohave, just south of Las Vegas. Upon completion, the structure will be submitted to become the first floating LEED certified structure in the nation. A member of the U.S. Green Building Council, Cottonwood Cove Resort & Marina recently registered the boat rental and marina service for construction. The details will be unveiled during the Green Marina Launch on May 29, at which time Forever Resorts will also announce and celebrate the partners helping to...

BLOOMINGTON, IND.—Officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated they will recommend the adoption of a policy that allows suppliers to make valid claims of “environmental preferability” in relation to the marketing of disinfectants and sanitizers. This statement represents a significant departure from the Agency’s well entrenched policy that prohibits “green” claims to be made in conjunction with the promotion of any EPA registered product, including antimicrobial pesticides. Specifically, EPA officials are expected to recommend that the Agency allow suppliers to make factual claims of environmental preferability in conjunction with disinfectants and sanitizers, according to Marty Monell of EPA’s...

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE—Approximately 240 representatives of the hospitality industry in the New England area gathered at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua, N.H., on Tuesday, April 14 for the first New England Eco Hospitality Expo. Almost 60 exhibitors participated in the event that was part conference, part expo. Educational sessions focused on topics ranging from green marketing to sustainable food purchasing. Exhibitors featured products such as guestroom energy management systems, window film and environmentally friendly amenities. A ribbon cutting ceremony featuring sponsors, representatives of the various New England state green lodging programs and other environmental officials opened the expo. In the...

CHICAGO—Chicago is recognized as one of the nation’s leading green cities so it is fitting that owners of the Hotel Felix, the city’s first hotel designed to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, announce the property’s opening during Earth Month. Originally designed in 1926 by Chicago architecture firm Levy and Klein, the former Hotel Wacker, a single room occupancy property, closed for redevelopment in 2007. Hotel Felix now provides an innovative, eco-friendly boutique hotel with efficiencies and key design elements that lessen the environmental impact of a newly...