Its holiday season and the internet, newspapers & magazines are rife with travel options and eco-tourism offers. For those who like to spend their money on quality deals like a concern for nature and like to opt for a LEED certified hotel, here’s another option-Blue (tourism) if you are bored with ‘green’ one!

Blue tourism is the latest offering to the environmentally concerned vacationers. This new concept in world travel is an initiative taken by Kerzner Marine Foundation. The latter is a private, non-profit foundation by Kerzner International that owns and operates the Atlantis on Paradise Island (Bahamas). The foundation is dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of endangered global marine ecosystems which have become the poor victims of over-exploitation by humans. It has started The Blue Project in the newest hotel there, The Reef and to ultra luxurious Cove Atlantis hotel (already a preferred choice among tourists).

The Blue project offers resort guests & visitors an opportunity to support the ocean and interact with marine life through a carefully crafted combination of ocean-based experiences that are also benefiting the marine conservation programs.

A portion of revenue collected from booking fees for the recreational programs and ocean tours and hotel stay per se is donated to the Blue Project. Both the project and the foundation lay stress on scientific research, education and community outreach to preserve the marine flora & fauna via eco-tourism.
The Reef spells innovation at many levels. It is the Atlantis resort’s 1st Condotel. The latter means that a guest can purchase an ultra-luxe suite (furnished and equipped by the hotel) for his/her use for any ninety days in a year and for the rest of the time, this condo remains in the hotel’s rental pool. The owner receives 50% of fee.

The condo suites are designed for an ultimate experience of luxury and relaxation. Every suite has a master bedroom, living spaces, gorgeous bathrooms, ocean view and Nassau harbor view and a personal kitchen all fully furnished! The Reef lacks a restaurant which explains the presence of your own kitchen in your suite. Besides, on rainy days one can explore a host of indoor facilities provided by the resort. These include a movie theatre, a pottery studio and an arcade.. At the Reef, kids can enjoy a 24-hour “Toy Room Service as well.

In case you like fishes and love to explore marine life there’s snorkeling to do at the 171 acres of beach area at The Atlantis. The latter also provides a stupendous view of aqua-life in its own aquarium which has more than 50,000 fish, a predator pool and a Dolphin Cay (Wow!).

One can participate in the Kerzner Marine Foundation’s efforts by visiting the fish hospital, fish nursery, special food-prep areas and state-of-the-art labs to monitor water quality. Bahamas is a heaven waiting for you and your family. For further details and more information on reservations, visit the Reef Atlantis but don’t be lazy for the resort runs choc-a-block with tourists across globe during the peak-season!

Via: roadandtravel

The state of California sure knows what it means to “Go Green”! This time the initiative comes from the California Building Standards Commission. The latter has announced a statewide adoption of “green” building code on Friday 18th of this month.The announcement comes as a happy surprise among Californians, who are the pioneers to adopt such a code for their state in the entire United States of America!

Here’s what the Californian governor said,”By adopting this first-in-the-nation statewide green building code, California is again leading the way to fight climate change and protect the environment.”The Commission found out that in terms of higher carbon footprint the state’s buildings rank next to its transportation.

Thus, this announcement reflects a positive concern to improve the situation by reducing the carbon emissions. The new standards yet to be employed promise :

• 20% improvement in water use efficiency for both residential and commercial plumbing fixtures
• a 50% increase in conservation for water used in landscaping
• reduction in energy consumption by 15%
• overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions 30% by 2020

The new policies are envisioned to be in sync with the goals mandated in Assembly Bill 32 (passed as law 2 years ago).

Friday also saw the introduction of Green Building Initiative by governor Schwarzenegger (Executive Order S-20_04). This initiative calls for a 20% cut back in energy consumption by all state-owned buildings by 2015. As of now, a total of 13 state-buildings are LEED certified. According to the Green Building Initiative, the renovation of rest of the state-buildings will be planned in a manner to acquire a LEED Silver certification.

The initiative taken by Californian government is very inspiring. Let us hope that other states and countries of the world follow this trail in order to achieve a sustainable, greener and healthier tomorrow.
Source: enn

In times of water scarcity, every drop is precious. While some people & institutions realize this fact others still go on living in their ignoramus style.

Belonging to the former category is the High School in Arlington (Virginia) along with its Langston Brown Community Center which has set a fine example of green concept (to the world) in terms of rainwater harvesting efforts. The building has a LEED Silver rating for its interesting green features, which are:
• Presence of two 11,000-gallon water tanks (one being on the roof of the building) that store about 280,000 gallons of rainwater per year!
• The water so harvested is used for sidewalk washing, onsite irrigation and such uses.
• Presence of waterless urinals- contributes to the project’s 23% reduction in potable water use.
• Each classroom provides a minimum of 4 switches to control lighting levels.
• The high school’s indoors feature use of adhesives, solvents, paints, and carpets with low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Presence of Sunshades-these provide indirect daylighting while still being effective in maintaining more than 90% visibility in building’s occupied spaces.
• Clerestory windows are present on third-floor classrooms to provide additional daylighting.

Source: treehugger.com

‘Go Green’ is the norm these days. To put less strain on our planet every industry, every sector wants to add a dash of ‘green’ aka ‘eco-friendly’ quotient to their entities. Initially when the hospitality sector stepped in this drive the max hotels did was provide eco-friendly sanitary ware, towels, linen and so-on. Back then, the awareness among customers was also limited. But now, things have started changing. With ever more concern towards issues like climate change, global warming, carbon footprint etc. hotels need to step-up their eco-friendliness.

Although, out of 47,000+ U.S. hotels only a small number are currently enrolled in green programs in a formal way. Only eleven hotels are constructed as per the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED standards. The number of Energy Star-certified properties has now become 314. These properties are aptly designed so as to reduce the energy consumption in best possible manner. Newer trends are emerging in such hotels and properties to upscale their eco-friendly quotient.

Latest trends include:
· Adopting such eco-friendly habits like using biodegradable paper cups instead of Styrofoam.
· Installing furniture, carpeting made from recycled products.
· Retrofitting with low-flow showers and toilets (to save water).
· Offering “Eco-chic” suites including upholstery made from organic materials, eco-friendly toiletries and cosmetics, organic wine/coffee and snacks. ( available at Fairmont Hotels & Resorts in San Francisco and Washington).
·Having eco-friendly oasis & ponds with recycled water at hotels (LEED-certified: the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco and the 133-room Gaia Napa Valley Hotel in American Canyon).
· Eco-friendly organic food in restaurants & mini-bars (items like Tom’s Natural Toothpaste, organic crackers and organic licorice logs are offered).

While these moves are surely promising the number of hotels implementing these need to be increased. So far as the conscious and eco-friendly tourists are concerned, they just need to make intelligent choices. Rest, most of the things in the “go green” drive are looked after by the hotels themselves.

Via LaTimes