Environmental Awareness Blog

A Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving

A recent report was published by Report Buyer entitled "Ethical Food and Beverage, Personal Care and Household Products in the U.S." stating that despite the economic downturn, "ethical grocery products are continuing to make headway in the market."  Does this mean Americans are beginning to look out for their own health and the health of the plane as well?

According to this report, consumer demand is steadily increasing for products that fulfill eco-friendly, natural, organic, local, humane, and fair trade criteria. Major marketers and retailers are increasingly tapping into this trend by offering more ethical products, upping their corporate responsibility efforts through energy-efficient "green" facilities and sustainable business practices, and increasing their associated cause-related marketing efforts.

Anyone knows by simply walking into a busy Whole Foods that there is a strong customer demand for healthier products.  According to the report, approximately one-fourth of shoppers in the U.S. buy certified organic food and beverages and one-third are willing to pay more for organic food, even in the midst of an economic recession. This means that more organic turkey may end up on American's plates this holiday season.

If you are looking to make healthy and eco-friendly choices over the Thanksgiving Holiday, here are some helpful tips:
    •     Make a shopping list before you go out. Trying to think on the fly will cause unnecessary purchases and trips back and forth to the maket
    •    Buy local and/or organic. Thanksgiving is all about using your local resources to make delicious food. Get your turkey from you local farmer’s market or local producers.

It’s not just about the turkey!
    •    Drink green. Only buy wines with real cork stoppers, rather than plastic. Trees are not cut down for cork, and it is a crucial part of the forestry industry. Look for organic wines and liquors.
    •    Avoid plastic wrap. Most plastic wraps contain PVC which quickly winds up in landfills and has been linked to harmful environmental consequences. Use aluminum foil or, even better, send family home with glass or ceramic storage containers that they can return to you after.
    •    Keep your hands dry! A recent study found that your dishwasher uses less soap, half the energy and 1/6 of the water you might during hand washing. Air dry the dishes rather than heat drying them.

Plant Based Beverage Bottles Offer Eco-Alternative

Coca-Cola announced this week the global rollout of its PlantBottle this week.  Made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and 30% plant based materials (derived from sugar cane and molasses). A life-cycle analysis conducted by Imperial College London indicates the PlantBottle reduces carbon emissions by up to 25 percent, compared with petroleum-based PET.

Although the new PlantBottle will help to raise awareness of the need for more eco-friendly plastic bottles, the issue of waste should be addressed first and foremost. Coca-Cola is releasing the PlantBottle for its Dasani brand of water, and as many of you know, bottled water is anything but sustainable. In 2008 Americans drank more than 30 billion single-servings of bottled water.

Many entrepreneurs are coming up with creative ways to reuse plastic bottles, such as Plastiki and the Plastic Bottle Greenhouse.  Projects like these are helping to change consumer perspective on waste. The PlantBottle sets the course to eventually introduce bottles made with materials that are 100 percent recyclable and renewable.

At Hornblower we provide reusable bottles to all employees to discourage the use of disposable water bottles. We are doing our part to educate our employees and Respect Our Planet.

Be Environmentally Healthy and Do a "Carbon Cleanse"

In September an independent film called No Impact Man generated a lot of buzz around one man who lived carbon free for an entire year. This meant no television, no car, no elevators, and yes, no toilet paper among other carbon-emitting life's comforts that he chose to give up. What viewers learned is about the difference that no-impact living can have on your quality of life and the quality of the planet.

A month after the film was released the actual No Impact Man Colin Beavan declared a national No Impact Week starting on October 18, 2009. Check out stories about the first No Impact Week for inspiration.

If you are indeed inspired, the NRDC is launching a second No Impact Week just in time for the holidays beginning November 15, 2009. We encourage you to register and take the pledge for a week long "carbon cleanse" to help reduce your overall carbon footprint.  You can download the guide here.

Hornblower Cruises is working hard to reduce our environmental footprint as well. A great example is our goal of an 80% diversion rate at Alcatraz Cruises by year end 2009.  As of September 2009 we are diverting 76% of our waste, taking us closer to our goal! Eventually we hope to achieve zero waste at Alcatraz Landing, and all of our ports, through hard work and small victories that lead to greater and greener accomplishments.

Green Corridor: The Future for Good Business

The Respect Our Planet team ventured out to the City of Berkeley this week to explore the buzz around the Bay Area's  "Green Corridor."  The Green Corridor is home to the sustainable/green economy and the renewable energy movement.  The Green Corridor was established in 2007 by the Mayors of Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Emeryville and partners from UC Berkeley with a mission to create a burgeoning region of green technology and innovation.  It is strengthening the green economy by providing thousands of new jobs and the opportunity for small businesses to thrive.

Across the Bay from San Francisco, the region of Northern California known as the East Bay has created green business clusters within its surrounding eight cities. Compared to Silicon Valley and what it did for the high-tech industry, the Green Corridor is doing the same for the green industry by boosting local economy.

Onboard a bio diesel bus, the Respect Our Planet team explored sustainable businesses in Berkeley.  The all-day green excursion was given by East Bay Green Tours, a non-profit committed to providing educational tours that demonstrate the sustainable economy in action to inspire people to incorporate environmental responsibility into their own lives. After learning about hydrogen fuel cell buses, LEED buildings, sustainable "fast" food and the work of many innovative non-profits, we were inspired!

From Landfills to Zero Waste

Although virtually unheard of a decade ago, the concept of zero waste is beginning to spread across the country. Cities like San Francisco and Seattle are at the forefront of zero waste practices and even small communities like Nantucket aren't far behind with their own initiatives.

But what is zero waste? Zero waste maximizes recycling and composting, minimizes waste, reduces consumption and ensures that products are made to be reused or recycled back into nature or the market place.  Another term for this is "cradle to cradle."  To sum it up, zero waste means diverting all of our waste from landfills.

A lot of cities, towns and communities are finding that they are running out of landfill space and therefore are looking a better and greener alternatives such as zero waste.  The problem is getting company and government buy-in to lead zero waste initiatives. Although the San Francisco government has helped Waste Management by passing recycling and composting mandates to reach zero waste by 2020, many waste management companies have not reached this point.

Waste Management in Houston, for example, is currently working on a zero waste initiative but initial problems are coming from their own management and employees . Currently Houston Waste Management pays their employees commission based on the amount of waste sent to landfills. More than just getting company or government buy-in, Houston has to start from the employee level.

Customers will also have to be taught to think about the destination of every throwaway. If the zero waste philosophy is to prevail, education is key.

Hornblower works everyday to educate our guests and employees on how to reduce waste. Our subsidiary company, Alcatraz Cruises, currently diverts 76% of all waste with the help of our maintenance team, reduced packaging from our vendors and by using compostable plates, cup and utensils in our cafe. Companies like Hornblower have the upper hand to move faster than private citizens because momentum can be driven by one person at the top. It may take a lot longer to get average Americans to compost, but with the right amount and type of education, zero waste is achievable in the near future.

California to Charge Companies Fees for Emissions

Beginning in late 2010, California pollution regulators will charge companies for emitting greenhouse gases. The statewide fee will help California pay for the monitoring and regulation of its carbon emissions as part of its climate change law and AB32. Under this law California must cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

The fee, passed by the California Air Resources Board late last month, is expected to raise $63 million within the first year and hit about 380 companies that produce, distribute, refine or use natural gas, coal, electricity, crude or distillates. The targeted companies represent 85 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Businesses will pay 15 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide they or their customers emit in the first three years of the program. In 2014, when the state pays off loans it took out to pay for the program, the fee will likely fall to 9 cents per metric ton.

Hornblower Cruises & Events are doing our part to reduce our carbon emissions by tracking all of our resources including fuel, electricity, gas, water and trash. In doing so we can take steps to set goals and reduce our carbon footprint.

U.S. Postal Service Receives an Energy Efficiency Upgrade

The San Francisco U.S. Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center is saving $11 million a year with its energy efficiency retrofits that include cheaper lights, software-controlled HVAC systems, solar panels and fuel cells. The energy upgrades, provided by Chevron Energy Solutions, are saving the 1.2 million square foot building about $1.2 million a year on electric bills, as well as a 69 percent reduction in heating.

Buildings use about 40 percent of the energy generated globally and generate nearly half of the world's green house according to the Department of Energy, who believes that could be cut by at least 30 percent. The Postal Service is a good model for what's to come in the energy efficiency field since four-fifths of the buildings that are undergoing retrofits are government buildings such as schools, universities and other publicly funded entities. This is because public customers tend to know that they will be using the same building in 10 years versus commercial buildings that switch tenants more often.

A $108 million, 400-building retrofit, mostly replacing light bulbs, across the U.S. Postal Service's Pacific region is expected to pay itself off in about 10 years, according to Ray Levinson, USPS environmental specialist.

Hornblower Cruises & Events are currently working on our own energy retrofits at Alcatraz Landing including lighting, HVAC and refrigeration upgrades. These energy efficient upgrades will help cut  our electricity use and save energy. This is just one of the ways that our company works to Respect Our Planet!

(photo courtesy of greentechmedia.com)

The Journey of Our Trash

An article was recently published in Earth Times about the eco-mindedness of San Franciscans who drive hybrid cars, shop with cloth bags and separate their trash.  According to the article, nearly all of San Francisco's 900,000 inhabitants separate refuse into recyclables, compostables and trash.  But where does all this trash go?  After attending NorCal Waste's recycling center tour a few months ago, I can safely say that all San Francisco compostables travel to Vacaville where they are broken down into rich soil and used at nearby farms and wineries. All recyclable, such as plastics, are sold to companies overseas and all other trash is taken to a landfill in Livermore. 

But where does that leave other cities in the US? Are residents across America as eco-minded as San Franciscans? Is the journey of trash the same as everywhere in the US?  To answer these questions researchers in Seattle have worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to track trash on its journey.

The trash tracking program is currently underway. Researchers have tagged items such as a can of beans, a compact fluorescent bulb and a plastic water bottle with small electronic tracking devices.  Through the project, overseen by M.I.T., 3,000 pieces of common garbage, mostly from Seattle, will be tracked through the waste disposal system over the next three months. The purpose of the project is simple, to give people a concrete sense of their impact on the environment in a way that might lead them to change their habits. For example, if it is discovered that a plastic bottle will end up a few miles down the road in the dump, then possibly this will encourage people to drink more tap water.

The experiment brings tremendous educational value, which is of upmost importance.  At Hornblower we strive to educate our visitors about the impact of their waste not only through this blog, but also from signage on our landings and boats. 

California's Clean Energy Plan Vetoed?

A new bill requiring the state of California to purchase one third of its electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind by 2020 has many Californians wondering, are we one step closer to cleaner energy? The answer is Yes. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to veto the bill, but it passed in the state Senate this Friday, sending a strong signal that policy makers are ready to address climate change.

The plan would reduce the amount of power purchased from out of state sources and could effectively keep more jobs in the state of California.  Meanwhile, critics are still debating whether so-called green jobs are real and whether the cost of cutting carbon is worth the price. A study by California's utilities commission echoes these concerns, saying that the state's goal of a 33 percent renewable energy supply would be virtually impossible under any circumstances due to the complexity and cost of the project. Governor Schwarzenegger disapproves of the bill because it sets limits on out of state power imports and on the placement of solar installations, a measure his Spokesperson calls a "protectionist scheme" that would kill the solar industry. Schwarzenegger will issue an Executive Order within the next 30 days to reduce the state's energy footprint through other mechanisms. 

Supporters of the legislation are urging the governor to reconsider, saying an executive order would not have the same force of law.... Tell us what you think about this possible new legislation... Are you a critic or supporter?

Global Warming: Worse Than We Thought?

A new study was released last week by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) saying that the effects of global warming in the Arctic are "far worse than previous projections." Dr. Martin Sommerkorn, senior climate change advisor for WWF's Arctic program says that, "What we're finding is truly sobering."

What WWF researchers found is that ice in the Arctic sea is melting at a faster rate than expected. The report predicts that global sea levels will rise by more than 3 feet by 2100, which is significantly higher than what scientist previously believed. Although the facts about global warming are often debated, studies such as these from the WWF shows us that global warming effects are real, global and measurable.  The causes are mainly from us, the human race, and the effects on us could be severe.

Click here for a Top Ten Global Warming Causes and Effects list. This may make you think twice about the car you drive, the food you eat and the products you buy. Do your part to Respect Our Planet and reduce your carbon footprint.  Find out how to be a greener citizen by clicking here.

If you would like to lend your voice, say what you think about global climate change at http://www.connect2earth.org/. Join the discussion, enter the competition, and start respecting our planet.  One lucky winner will get to attend the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen this December.