Pepsi's Gone Green Along with All Laundry Detergent, Who'll Be Next?

Mainstream America seems to be catching up to the going green concept and in my inbox this morning, had an email from the Pepsi Cola Company touting its efforts to go green. Also in the email was mention of All Small and Mighty Laundry Detergent going green, too.

Both have green Web sites with fun, interactive components to help consumers go green.

Wondering when I'll receive an email from the Coca Cola Company learning about their green efforts.

Mission Accomplished! VFg3 Revealed

VFg3 made their first public debut in front of the corporation's higher ups yesterday and to say the least, it was a success! So much of a success that G.G. will probably be sticking around longer and "Team Green" will be established within the office to keep the green ball rolling.

So what does VFg3 stand for? VISIT FLORIDA Girls Gone Green. We chose this because all six of the sales representatives are women and wanted to have a little fun and parody the legendary "Girls Gone Wild" (or Girls Gone Mild, depending on what part of the Sunshine State). If the VF guys are feeling left out, a "G" can double as "Girls and Guys."

Each of the six sales reps presented a portion of the 45-minute presentation. G.G. was introduced early on, too. As part of the required multi-media presentation, the Power Point included video. Organic and other environmentally conscious food were served during the presentation. Water bottles with the VFg3 logo were given away to the higher ups along with green bags reading, "VISIT FLORIDA Goes Green," which were left over from this year's Governor's Conference on Travel. Of course, this blog served as another component of multi-media.

What's next? The Executive Committee said they'd like to see "Team Green" established in the office not only to help VISIT FLORIDA go green but serve as a leader and resource for the tourism industry to go green. Immediately, all six sales reps were assigned to the committee. Who would have thunk a simple goal could make such an impact. Stay tuned!

Think Twice Before Snubbing Your Green Nose at a Bus

One of the VFg3 sales reps attended the National Tour Association (NTA) Annual Convention in Kansas City (Nov. 2 - 6) and came back with groovy green facts about motor coaches (aka: buses). Now don't be snubbing your nose at the concept of traveling on a motor coach. These aren't your grandma's buses these days. Coaches are comfortable, provide a smooth ride, and best of all, someone else is driving while you nap. Besides, motor coaches these days are a good thing for the environment.

Our VFg3 sales rep extraordinaire heard from Motor Coach Industries (MCI), whose slogan is "Go Green, Go Coach, Go MCI," to learn how they're decreasing their impact to our planet.

For instance, did you know one motor coach can potentially remove 56 cars from the road?

More shocking is that the U.S. transportation system accounts for one-third of the U.S.'s greenhouse gas emissions, that's more than 515 million tons of CO2 annually!

These and other factoids are found at the MCI's green facts page.

In September of this year, the American Bus Association (ABA) released the "Penguin Packet" to launch the "Save a Penguin, Take a Motorcoach" campaign. According to the packet, motor coaches are:

• Almost seven times more energy and fuel efficient than single-occupancy.
• Five times more efficient than transit buses.
• Three times more efficient than commuter rail.

Think motor coaches, they're a good shade of green!

Does the Tourism Industry Understand the Color Green?

During this whole VFg3 project, G.G.'s been wondering if the tourism industry understands the meaning of green. After doing a quick survey of destination marketing offices (DMOs, most of them being Convention and Visitors Bureaus - CVBs), G.G. can attest some offices are doing the basics - recycling and some energy conservation. But what about policies of purchasing green products from green vendors? Or, purchasing carbon offset emissions when traveling?

Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) understands the color of green. The association, which serves as the world's premier resource for DMOs, purchased staff travel carbon offsets for the 93rd annual convention in 2007. That's pretty cool.

With all the talk of going green, I recently came across the Hotel HotSheet USA Today blog and a post about a ecotainers being introduced in the Hilton Garden Inn hotel line. Ecotainers are "all-natural hot beverage cups coated with corn-based plastic" and "requires less energy and generates less greenhouse gas during manufacturing." Sounds pretty cool and tasty!

What's astonishing is that the 300-plus Hilton Garden Inns annually consume 6 million Styrofoam-based cups!

Even more interesting in the blog post is a link to an article on Hotel-Online.com called, "The Colour of Hotels The Politics of Going Green" by Barry Napier, which links to Napier's article called, "The Real Deal Behind Green Hotels and Carbon Footprints."

Napier not only questions global warming but points out scientific studies disclaiming it. In turn, hotels (especially the small ones) and the rest of the world (because we as consumers are helping the green hotels profit), are being duped and wasting money by going green. He makes the distinction between "going green" (reducing waste, saving money) and "saving the planet" (in essence, he says the planet is not in peril).

Give his articles a read, they're interesting food for thought.

Imagine Florida without the Keys

Thinking of Florida without the Florida Keys and the Everglades seems impossible but according to Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University by 2060, this could be a very likely possibility. According to GDEI's November study called, "Florida and Climate Change: The Cost of Inaction," sea levels are anticipated to rise by 27 inches if Florida doesn't do anything to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Now if the Keys and other popular tourist areas disappear (beaches will be threatened), this will have a significant impact on tourism. As the report points out:

• Florida will be at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer by 2100, making it hotter and less attractive to tourists (Florida will truly be one hot destination!) during the low and shoulder seasons.
• There will be fewer places for tourists to visit in the Sunshine State meaning fewer places visiting meaning fewer things purchased. By 2025, GDEI predicts (if nothing is done in Florida to reduce carbon emissions) a $9 billion impact and $40 billion by 2050.
• Hurricane damage will increase due to hurricane intensity (warmer water temperatures , too.
• The cost of doing business in Florida will be expensive and this no doubt be passed along to tourists, making Florida an expensive place to vacation and live. Insurance rates will probably rise due to increased hurricane activity and it'll cost more to cool buildings with warmer temperatures.
• Foods associated with Florida, like oranges and shrimp, may not be able to survive the climate change. Warming waters may destroy the shrimp's habitat and land reduction and warmth may or they may not be able to thrive due to reduction in land.
• With warmer waters, marine habitats will change, coral reefs will bleach and die, popular snorkeling and diving destinations will no longer be popular for tourists.

It's not all doom in gloom. If Florida steps up to the plate to reduce greenhouse emissions, as directed by Gov. Charlie Crist's Executive Orders signed in July 2007, conditions can be stabilized. Global warming is inevitable but it can be slowed and stabilized.

G.G. has to ask, does the cost of inaction outweigh action?