Can You Really Have a Green Vacation in Florida?

G.G.'s been touting how easy it is to have a green vacation in Florida but what happens when we put theories to the test? Is it really easy to have a green Florida vacation? I mean, I had an awesome time in Pensacola last December, but that really wasn't a vacation, that was a staff retreat. (Here she is birdwatching with some of the VF crew.)

Soon enough, we'll be having a guest blogger sharing his spring break vaca to sunny Florida and all the green vacation opportunities he finds (and by green, I don't mean margaritas). Stay tuned!

Green Passport Launched During ITB in Berlin Last Week

Still not convinced traveling green is easy to do? The United Nations Environment Programme launched the Green Passport during ITB in Berlin last week. The Green Passport is designed to create global consumer awareness about the impact made when traveling. The Passport offers easy to follow green tips for travelers planning a vacation (or "holiday," as you non-Americans prefer).

The Passport is divided into different sections, depending on the vacation planning process. There's information about planning a green vacation, how to get there, getting around once there, how to act while there and what to do upon returning home. Site visitors can also submit their own green travel tips.

Have I mentioned how easy it is to use this Passport?

See! Traveling green isn't that hard.

T-Shirt Bags are a Green Good Thing

Attending numerous conferences means I accumulate numerous t-shirts and conference bags. I keep the groovy ones, some are given to friends and family and others are donated to Goodwill. But what about making something useful out of those t-shirts?

Check out Martha Stewart to see what she and her team have come up with, a t-shirt converted into a shopping bag! Now that's a green good thing. (BTW - fast forward through the part about gourds to see the green t-shirt bag).

Traveling Green Just Got Easier with Greentravelhub.com

G.G.'s been out of sight lately but she's back! Want to travel green but not sure where to begin? The Web is full of green travel information but try Greentravelhub.com

The site offers green travel options for hotels, rental cars and flights (non-green options, too). What's even better is 20% of the profits benefit an environmental organization. Check out Greentravelhub.com to be green travel savvy.

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!