Orlando Marriott Earns Green Designation

The 486-room Orlando Airport Marriott has just been named a designated property with Florida’s Green Lodging Program, recognizing it as an environmental leader. The Florida Green Lodging Program was established in 2004 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) with the intent of recognizing and rewarding environmentally conscientious lodging facilities in the state. Each hotel is required to meet a minimum set of environmental practices.

The set of practices each facility implements may vary from one hotel to another. In terms of the Orlando Airport Marriott, the hotel has a linen reuse program, low-flow faucets and showerheads and water-efficient laundry equipment. To conserve energy, the hotel has a computerized energy management system with programmable thermostats and sensor lighting. The hotel also has a property-wide recycling program and purchases recycled paper products.

Other states have similar Green Lodging Programs including Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Vermont, California and Virginia.

Virgin Atlantic Flies a 747 from London to Amsterdam partly on Biofuel

On February 24th, Virgin Atlantic flew one of it's Boeing 747 airliners from London to Amsterdam with one engine using a 20% blend of biofuel. Richard Bronson has pledged to invest upwards of $3 billion in renewable energy technologies (story from bbc).

Video copyright Digital News Agency

Many environmental groups are regarding the biofuel jet demonstration as simply a publicity stunt, however it does show a commitment by the airline to push the industry forward in trying to use less fossil fuels. The reality is that air travel is going to continue to increase and finding the most efficient and least fossil-fuel dependent technologies will allow the airlines to better compete in an era where carbon emissions are likely to be regulated.

Interested in Planning an Eco-Honeymoon?

As people become more and more conscious about eco travel and vacations, many are starting to re-think one of the biggest vacations of their lifetime...their honeymooon. Now there is a plethora of options when it comes to eco hotels and resorts in amazing destinations getting honeymooners one step closer to having a complete carbon neutral vacation experience.

1. Maho Bay Camp, St. John, Virgin Islands

Maho has offered its “Total Eco Experience” for nearly 30 years. Stay in any of 114 oceanside tent-cottages that are the ultimate in environmental retreats. Built by hand to avoid disturbing the natural environment, the tent-cottages are connected by elevated walkways that are raised to prevent soil erosion. While there is electricity, trade winds — not AC — cool the rooms. And you’ll bathe in a bathhouse, using biodegradable soap and pull-chain showers that drain into surrounding vegetation.

maho.org

2. Fiji Resort, Savusavu

Ranked as the #1 Most Environmentally Friendly Accommodation by Trip Advisor for 2007, this out-of-the-ordinary destination is owned by the son of the late Jacques Cousteau. Jean-Michel is dedicated to sharing his father’s and his own love of land and sea, and to sustaining the indigenous people of Fiji, their culture and their natural sense of hospitality. Green amenities include the first recycling program on Savusavu, meals created from the property’s organic gardens and edible landscaping, marine-life protection programs, and a new wastewater system using coconuts and recycled bottles to produce clean water in the property’s picturesque lagoons.

fijiresort.com

3. Eden Beach Hotel, Bora Bora, Tahiti

Share an island-garden bungalow 200 feet from the water in the shade of coconut palms. This iconic resort on a private stretch of white-sand Eden Beach in Bora Bora’s turquoise-water lagoon is both pampering and planet-friendly. Opened in 2001 with just 15 bungalows, the small, environmentally friendly operation maintains a progressive recycling program, sea-life conservation programs, and 432 solar panels that run low-consumption lights, water heaters, water pumps and appliances.

borabora.net

4. Yacutinga Lodge, Argentina

Recognized by the World Tourism Organization as one of the 60 model ecotourism enterprises in the world in 2003, Yacutinga Lodge boasts a private nature reserve in the heart of the Argentinean rainforest. Surrounded by the Iguazú National Park, this 1,400 acre wildlife and nature reserve area is part of the protected rainforest shared by Brazil and Argentina known as the “green corridor.” Native materials such as stones and large logs from fallen trees are used in architecture designed to integrate with the natural environment. Unique guest suites feature private views of the rainforest, and the restaurant features local, organically grown foods. The resort’s unique “Biological Station” supports rainforest preservation research.

yacutinga.com

5. Six Senses Spa and Resorts

With more than 35 resorts around the world, many concentrated in Southeast Asia and parts of Europe, Six Senses’ extensive environmentally and socially responsible programs include water conservation and towel-reuse programs; extensive recycling and composting programs; use of energy-saving light bulbs; sustainably managed and certified timber sourcing; and use of renewable energy including biodiesel, biogas, solar and wind power, and even deep-sea cooling. Spa products are made only from natural ingredients, and the company reduces “food miles” by using fresh produce grown in on-site organic gardens. Six Senses also supports environmental programs that help offset the carbon emissions from its operations — as well as reef preservation initiatives to help protect the environment that makes many Six Senses locales so spectacular.

sixsenses.com

Orbitz goes Green with new Eco Tourism Site

Orbitz has launched an eco tourism website to view eco hotels and plan eco vacations. The move has been spurred by their new priority to help Protect Planet Earth from the inside-out. Orbitz wants to raise environmental awareness among travelers and begin the process of making it easier to get involved in eco-friendly activities during their trips.

Their new initiative is set out to encourage travelers to consider the environment during the planning and booking in addition to during their stay. They are also offering a way to offset your travel emissions with their partners at carbonfund.org, rent hybrid cars and have a shortened list of hotels that have gone green in some form or another.

Orbitz Eco Site