LIVING IN A SEA OF GREEN

It feels like I’m in what The Beatles called a “Sea of Green” today. I can hardly keep up with the incredible amount of information coming my way every day about the environment. I want to be Green. I want to live a greener life. Ultimately, I want to do my part to help save the planet for future generations to enjoy. It’s the right thing to do and I am learning that it can save money and time, too. But, like so many consumers I talk to, I often wonder—where do I start? What can I do? Where can I find the right resources? How much is it going to cost to go Green?

I’ve made an effort to dig down beyond the headlines to know a lot more. I recycle. I am making my home far more efficient. I am also working to build Green into my hotel and apartment properties as much as I can. I like to share what I know, so I founded a non-profit called the Evergreen Project, which is devoted to educating young people about the environment, renewable energy, and sustainability. It’s based in San Diego, California, but we are looking at developing programs in a number of national locations.

One of the things I learned recently is that Waste Management provides a service in which they will go through a commercial dumpster and pull out your recyclables for an extra $10.00 a month. I have been using the service at my apartment property and it has meant that we no longer have to have separate recycling into various containers. It's a small price to pay to help recycle on an annual basis and is a sign of how Green innovation can sometimes be discovered in the most surprising of places—Waste Management is certainly living up to their name in more ways than one.

At home, I'm cutting back on water consumption as a start. Recently, I bought an instant hot water heater so that I don't have to store heated water until it is needed. Makes sense to me. But, it took me several trips to Home Depot and Costco before I got it right. You see, common sense is sometimes the key to making it all work. So, you can benefit by my mistakes—just make sure the unit you buy will supply enough hot water so you can shower and do laundry at the same time. I learned the hard way! I am finding that a little research upfront can save a giant headache—you can look at whether gas, propane or electric options are best suited to your home and lifestyle. It can also lower your carbon footprint in avoiding multiple shopping trips.

I 'm buying more recycled products for my home and hotel. It’s amazing to see how product lines have grown only since last year. More products are becoming available daily. Typically, they may cost a bit more, but I expect prices to come down with growing demand. Right now, I'm also looking into solar panels for my roof at home. In particular, I’m trying to find a solution that doesn’t unfavorably impact our curb appeal. Here, too, I’ve noticed that there are many more choices than there used to be. BP Solar is producing both thin film and actual photovoltaic shingles that can be integrated into rooftops that don't jump out at you.

Bottom line, I’m continuing to find new and different innovations that will provide useful applications to my properties and I look forward to sharing them with my readers as I discover them. As always, I warmly welcome readers to share their own stories as we make our way together on this exciting new path to a greener future.