This week I am in Wilmington, Delaware for work and on Michael’s suggestion, I went to the Green Room at the Hotel du Pont for dinner.  When I arrived, I was greeted and seated by their wonderful staff.  They even offered me reading materials for dinner (newspapers, etc.) as I was dining alone.  Upon entering the room, I was in awe of the detail in the wood work.  This room which was completed in 1913 (according to the staff) screams "classy!"

For dinner, I ordered braised short ribs which were cooked for 7 hours in duck fat and drizzled with a maple sauce.  This was served over garlic mashed potatoes, roasted beets, and deep fried thinly sliced carrot strips.  This meal was nothing short of spectacular.

If you are in the Wilmington, Delaware region this place is a must try!

-Allen

Yesterday Susan and I went had the best Thai and Chinese food that I think we have ever tasted!  We went to Shirley’s parents house to see Smart (friend and co-worker) and Shirley and to meet Narawut for the first time!  Smart’s Mom and Aunt cooked the Thai food and Shirley’s Mom made the Chinese dishes.  I have to say it was absolutely amazing and the best meal that I have had in a VERY long time!  Narawut’s a very cute baby!

-Allen

The other day I was at a party and somebody spilled a drink.  The first reaction of the people there was to quickly grab paper towels to wipe up the mess.  After it was over, I did a "post-mortem" to discuss why they didn’t use rags or towels.  The reason was plain and simple…paper towels were just much easier for them.  Also, they said it’s not like them reducing their paper towel use would make a difference.  This is the mentality that we have to work to change with most folks.

Even though it was "easier" to use paper towels in this instance, this creates more solid waste that must be disposed of and uses more trees to create the paper towels.  A rag can be anything from an old t-shirt that you didn’t throw out, to old curtains.  Just chop them up and you have an absorbing machine!  These are washable and reusable.  The idea here is to reduce overall waste.  So the next time you have a mess that you need to clean up, consider using a rag or cloth towel instead of running for that paper towel roll.

-Allen

This morning at the hotel I caught this segment on the Today Show discussing Catalog Choice.  I wonder if somebody is taking suggestions from my blog.  :)  First Whole Foods, now the Today Show….

Check out the video:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22820508#22820508

-Allen

This morning while eating breakfast in the concierge lounge, I was reading Highlights for adults.  :)  The headline on the front page of the business section stated that Whole Foods will no longer be using plastic bags at their checkout lines.  This is a major step for grocery stores and I certainly hope other chains follow suit.  Perhaps they read Green Tip #2

Check out the complete story as I read it:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-01-21-whole-foods-bags_N.htm

This article highlights a pretty astonishing fact.  Plastic bags can take 1,000 years to break down!  Please either bring your own bags or switch to paper.

-Allen

How many times do you get a mail order catalog that you never look at and just toss in the garbage?  So many of these catalogs are available online so there is little need for this media from many companies.

There is a great FREE service that is available online that will let you unsubscribe from most of the major mail order catalogs. Catalog Choice (http://www.catalogchoice.org) allows you to "simplify your life and save natural resources."  They have some very interesting stats about the resources that are used to produce the 19 billion catalogs that are sent out in the US each year.  What they leave out is the amount of fuel that is used to actually transport the catalogs around the country,  how much fuel is used to transport the waste to landfills (or to be recycled), and how much space it will take up in the landfills.

From http://www.catalogchoice.org/environmental-facts
What’s the impact?

• Number of trees used – 53 million trees
• Pounds of paper used – 3.6 million tons of paper
• Energy used to produce this volume of paper – 38 trillion BTUs, enough to power 1.2 million homes per year
• Contribution to global warming – 5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equal to the annual emissions of two million cars
• Waste water discharges from this volume of paper – 53 billion gallons of water, enough to fill 81,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools

Please take the time to sign up with Catalog Choice and start to reduce the number of catalogs you get today!  For those not listed on their site you can usually call the company directly to be removed from their list.

-Allen

Next time you are in the checkout line at the grocery store and the cashier says, "Paper or Plastic?" wouldn’t it be nice to respond with, "No thanks, I’ve got my own."  Think about how many bags you use when you go the grocery store and what you do with them.  Often times they are just stuffed into other bags and end up accumulating in your house.  We have a few and keep them in the trunk of our car so the bags can be reused.  We also use cloth bags for many of our heavier items.  Quite a few grocery stores now sell reusable cloth bags, but you can certainly bring whatever kind of bag you want.  If you forget your bag(s) and are only buying a few items, carry them by hand without a bag. 

When traveling, try doing the same thing.  Instead of taking one of the laundry bags at the hotel to carry your dirty laundry home, bring a few bags with you when you initially pack your suitcase.

-Allen

Welcome to the first Green Tip!  I will be posting items that individuals can do to better the environment.  It has to start with you and it only takes one person to make a difference!

Since this is the first posting in this category, I just wanted to state why I am doing this.  For years now, I have been concerned for the environment.  Perhaps this comes from my hippie roots or that my father is in the precious metals recycling business.  I have often preached to friends, family, and even strangers to recycle and attempt to change some of their habits.  About a month ago, one of my friends said that I have all of these ideas and I should write them down.  Thus it became a resolution for this year.  1 post per week.  Please provide your feedback by leaving comments.  And now for this week’s tip…

Bottled water has become a huge business around the world.  It also produces a tremendous amount of waste.  Even though this is recyclable, many places have extremely inefficient programs.  When I was working at our support site, I remember a lot of folks drinking 6-10 bottles of water per day!  Instead of using bottled water, consider reusable plastic bottle.  These come in all different sizes, shapes, and colors.  Just like people.  :)  So I am sure you can find one to suit your needs.  Susan and I prefer Nalgene brand bottles which will range anywhere from $5-12 depending on the size you want.  You can find these at almost any outdoor or sporting good store.  These bottles can take a beating as well.  I have dropped them several times on pavement, while rock climbing, hiking, etc. and they are still working.  One of friends even claims that he ran over his with his car (accidentally of course ).  Combine the water bottle with a water filter product such as PUR, Brita, or even your work water cooler and you will be on your way to reducing waste.  At the same time you will be saving yourself money. 

-Allen

To everybody,

We would like to wish you a very happy and healthy New Year.

RESOLUTIONS

• Susan
  - Use less and recycle more
  - Spend less and save more
  - Remember how short life is
• Allen
  - Volunteer at least 20 hours to a NGO (have to start small :))
  - Write a weekly blog post about what individuals can do to reduce their impact on the environment
  - Visit a new continent (only 3 left).  If I don’t make this one, I will settle for at least getting to another one besides North America.

- Susan and Allen