Chicago’s Talbot Hotel Receives Green Power Award

On the heels of it being awarded the Green Seal Certification, the Talbot Hotel has been named a member of the 2008 Green Power Leadership Club by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The 149-room hotel received this EPA award in recognition of its exemplary environmental leadership. The hotel is also being honored for its efforts to operate a 100% carbon neutral property through the purchasing of renewable wind energy credits that offset the hotel’s entire carbon footprint. The hotel not only met the minimum requirements for the EPA’s Green Power Partnership, but reached the 10-fold qualifications of the Green Power Leadership Club.

Talbot Hotel

EPA Green Power Award

For More Information on Green Hotels, Go To Greenlodge.Org

Missouri to offer Green Hotel Certification Program

The Missouri Hotel & Lodging Association (MHLA) and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR)have just initiated a new green certification program as of Jan. 1.

The program will award green certification to hotels and bed and breakfasts that reach a certain level of environmental sustainability. The DNR will use a point system to measure things such as a facility’s efforts to lower water usage or maximize energy efficiency.

Ramona Mormann, executive director of MHLA, said Certified Green participants could earn their points by changing lighting, implementing recycling or green education programs for employees, and even mulching their grounds with eco-friendly material.

There is no cost to participate in the Certified Green program other than the cost for facilities to upgrade to green materials. Promotion of the program will be left to the individual hotels that meet green requirements.

“Going green is so important to our guests and to corporate America,” Mormann said. “Major companies like Johnson & Johnson won’t even consider hotels that aren’t green. We have to go green to keep our guests coming.”

The DNR will provide the official recognition for any hotel that meets its green point requirements, and the MHLA will offer enhanced award packages to its members that pass the Certified Green program. Packages will include distinctive signage and Certified Green branding opportunities.

The Missouri Hotel & Lodging Association is based in Jefferson City and has between 80 and 90 members in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Floyd Gilzow, deputy director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, said the first year would be used to gauge interest and participation in the Certified Green program.“I’d be willing to declare initial victory if 100 hotels joined,” Gilzow said. There are approximately 1,800 places of lodging in Missouri.



For More Information on Green Hotels, Go To Greenlodge.Org

Mass transit ridership increases despite cheaper gas

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) announced today that Americans continue to ride public transportation at record levels even though gas prices declined. More than 2.8 billion trips were taken on public transportation in the third quarter of 2008 -- an increase of 6.5 percent over the third quarter of 2007. This is the largest quarterly increase in public transportation ridership in 25 years. Meanwhile, vehicle miles of travel (VMT) on the nation’s highways declined in the same period by 4.6 percent according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Last year 10.3 billion trips were taken on U.S. public transportation – the highest number of trips taken in fifty years. In the first quarter of 2008, public transportation continued to climb and rose by 3.4 percent. In the second quarter of 2008, as gas prices rose to more than $4 for a gallon of gasoline, public transit ridership increased by 5.2 percent. The third quarter transit ridership increase of 6.5 percent continued the trend of more and more Americans turning to public transportation in record numbers.

Commuter rail ridership grew by 6.3 percent. The commuter rail systems with double digit ridership growth were located in the following areas: Albuquerque (35.8%); Pompano Beach, FL (32.9%); New Haven (32.2%); Portland, ME (29.6%); Oakland (26.1%); Stockton, CA (22.5%); Seattle (22.4%); Harrisburg/Philadelphia (21.7%); Dallas (18.8%); Los Angeles (17%); and San Carlos, CA (16.4%).