St. Patrick’s Day is only a few weeks away, so I wanted to lay out ahead of time some of the common (and not so common) “green” things associated with St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland. But, St. Patrick’s Day is not just a commonly observed Irish holiday anymore, countries and individuals across the globe, whether Irish or not, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, the anniversary of his death. To the Irish it is considered as a religious or holy day and has been for over 1000 years.

Even though St. Patrick’s Day falls during the Christian season of Lent (which prohibits the consumption of meat on Fridays and Ash Wednesday), those prohibitions were often waived so Irish families would traditionally celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with large evening feasts filled with bacon and cabbage.

Over the years more and more commercialism set it and today’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are commonly associated with many things green:

1) Most people consider Corned Beef and Cabbage (green) to be the traditional “Irish meal” for St. Patrick’s Day. But like I mentioned above, bacon and cabbage was actually the meal of choice when it came to Irish families. So even though many of you may have Corned Beef and Cabbage, if you are looking for tradition on this St. Patrick’s Day – Bacon and Cabbage it is.

2) Don’t forget to chase that traditional Irish meal with a good, green beer. There are many different beers to choose from and it depends on whether you want a beer made in a “green” or environmentally-friendly manner or a beer that is green in color.

If you are looking for a beer that is green in color, how about making your own? Here’s a quick video to show you how you can make your own green beer:

If you are looking for an environmentally-friendly “green” beer, here are a couple of options: Goose Island’s Green Line Pale Ale or Samuel Smith’s Organic Lager or Ale. And if you want some tips on what to look for when buying a “green” beer, you can check out this beer buying guide. Buying local is also a great way to make a greener beer choice.

3) Leprechauns are considered as a sort-of Irish fairy. They are often portrayed as small men with green hats and clothes and commonly associated with rainbows and pots of gold.  Leprechauns are the “self-appointed guardians of ancient treasure (left by the Danes when they marauded through Ireland), burying it in crocks or pots.” But, a word of warning….if you see one, don’t take your eye off him, because Leprechauns can vanish in an instant.

4) Shamrocks (otherwise known as white clovers) are associated with good luck, especially those ever-elusive four-leaf clovers. The white clover, on its own, was regarded by the early Celts of Wales as a good luck charm against evil spirits. So if you are looking for some good luck this St. Patrick’s Day, maybe a white clover is the way to go.

Don’t forget to check out those leaves though, as they traditionally symbolize: one for faith, two for hope, three for love and four for luck.

5) The Chicago River being dyed green. Started way back in 1962, dyeing the Chicago River has become as much a tradition for St. Patrick’s Day as eating Corned Beef and Cabbage (oops, I mean Bacon and Cabbage). The first year 100 pounds of dye was used and the river stayed green for an entire week. The next year they only used 50 pounds of dye and the river stayed green for 3 days. The year after that they settled on 25 pounds and that kept the river green for the entire day.

In 1966, environmentalists accused the city of polluting the river with the dye it was using. After a number of trials, a new compound made of vegetable dyes was created and is the dye that is still used today. If you are interested, you can also read the whole story on how they started greening the Chicago River.

For those of you who will be in Chicago this year, they will be turning the river green starting at 10:45am on March 13th.

Check out this time-lapse video showing the greening of the Chicago River:

Now, of course, you also should keep in mind basic environmental green activities like recycling, eating your “greens” and keeping all things in moderation when you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year. What’s your favorite green (color or environmental) way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Image from superbowlflorida.blogspot.com

Last year an estimated 98.7 million Americans tuned in to the watch the big game on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s not including the 70,000+ people who actually attended the game. But do you have any idea of the costs, both monetary and environmental, of the Super Bowl? Well, let’s review some of those facts and figures as well as go over some environmental tips for your own personal game day activities.

If you attended Super Bowl I, you would have paid about $6 per ticket. Advertisers paid an estimated $42,000 for a 30-second ad spot. Today if you wanted to see Super Bowl XLIV, you’d pay anywhere between $1275 and $5650 per ticket.  Advertisers are paying an average $2.65 million for a 30-second ad spot…and that’s down from the last two years.

Some past advertisers including General Motors, FedEx and Pepsi, have opted out of this year’s advertising slots. However, despite complaints received by the Treasury Secretary, Chrysler plans on being the only U.S. auto-maker to run an ad during this year’s Super Bowl.

Take a look at this 1969 Super Bowl commercial from Chrysler:

Even though Pepsi is not having an ad during the Super Bowl, they are the official drink of the NFL and are debuting their new energy-efficient, HFC-free coolers at the Super Bowl, so I’m sure they will get plenty of promotion.

As far as the stadium and those in attendance for the big day….there are 20,000 parking spaces available e.g. a potential for 20,000 vehicles. The EPA estimates there is about 19.4 pounds of CO2 emitted for every gallon of gasoline burned. Even if each car only drove 20 miles to get there, that would still be over 7 million pounds or over 3500 tons of CO2 emissions. (NOTE: That doesn’t factor in trucks used to bring in food, supplies or any other CO2 emissions generated during game day preparations.)

When you factor in the trash generated on game day from left-over food containers, promotional flyers, etc you are talking even further environmental impact. Did you know at the 2004 Super Bowl, over 428 tons of trash was collected during the four-day event?

Luckily the the NFL has the “Super Bowl XLIV Environmental Program“ in place this year. Their program is designed to help lower the environmental impact of Super Bowl XLIV.

Solid Waste Management/Recycling: They intend to have recycling containers at all major event facilities where Super Bowl related activities will take place.

Prepared Food Recovery: Excess prepared food will be collected up and donated in coordination with Daily Bread Food Bank. Last year over 65,000 pounds of food was donated, due in part to activities like this and the annual “Taste of the NFL” event.

Materials Donation: After the Super Bowl, the NFL plans to donate as many supplies and materials as possible, so as not to waste them. This includes building materials, non-perishable foods and drinks, decorations, live plants, etc.

Sports Equipment/Book donation project: The “Super Kids-Super Sharing” project will be working to collect used sports equipment and books from local schools and school children for donation to other under-equipped schools and school children in South Florida.

Climate Change Initiative: Last but definitely not least, this initiative has a variety of facets, including using renewable-sourced energy to “power” the stadium and other facilities. Basically, the NFL has teamed up with NextEra Energy Resources who will supply Green e-certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to match electricity consumption during the Super Bowl and related events. They will also be decreasing transportation emissions from the Super Bowl fleet by using hybrid vehicles or alternative fuels. Providing sources for alternative fuels to all vendors and partners, including the broadcast media, for use in powering their on-site generators. Planting trees in coordination with the US Forest Service and local community groups to help offset carbon output, etc.

So, with the NFL doing their part to help lessen their environmental impact on Super Bowl Sunday, here are a few tips for you:

1) If you are driving to another location to watch the big game, car-pool with friends. If you are unable to do so, a proven fuel additive could help lower your emissions.

2) Use recyclable or bio-degradable plates, cups, etc. Try to recycle as much as you can.

3) Make your own game day treats, don’t have food delivered. Delivery means someone has to drive food to your home (emissions) and your food will probably come in non-recyclable containers inside a plastic bag. Be prepared and get your food ahead of time.

4) Don’t waste food. Most Super Bowl parties will have more food than people will eat, so package up what you don’t eat and save it for later.

If you really want to offset your Super Bowl Sunday and help the environment, you can always purchase a “Super Bowl Party Offset” from EarthEra. For $10, they say they will offset 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide. And 100% of their revenues from EarthEra product purchases apparently go to build more solar and wind energy project in the U.S.

What are your plans for Super Bowl Sunday? Do you have any tips you use to help lower your environmental impact on game day? Hope you have a great weekend…and don’t forget to get outside a little bit (before or after the game).

What’s the first thing you think when I say Las Vegas? Before you get too far, I can probably guarantee “environmental commitment” was not what you were thinking.  I know personally I don’t tend to think green or environmental when I think about Las Vegas. As a matter of fact I was just there over the weekend with my family and between all the new building construction, road repairs and renovations, plus everything being lit up all night long, the idea of much in Las Vegas being good for the environment didn’t enter my mind.

However, the new CityCenter™ wants us to start thinking differently about Las Vegas.  The CityCenter, which is part of the MGM Mirage™ group of properties, is looking to get fully LEED® certified.  Can you imagine any property on the Las Vegas Strip being that green or environmentally-aware?  Well, that’s what the plans are for the new CityCenter.  And let me tell you….this new property is HUGE.  We aren’t talking about one or even two buildings, there are six major buildings in the CityCenter complex (many of which are scheduled to open this week).  The CityCenter was reportedly designed and built all with the environment in mind…sort-of a sustainable community in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip where people could live, work and play all within one “center”.

As an example, their commitment to recycling started before construction even began.  When they removed the old Boardwalk hotel in preparation to build the new CityCenter, they didn’t just tear it down, they recycled or reused around 85% of the old building.  Why waste when you can reuse?  For future recycling, they are set up to recycle materials including paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, metals, kitchen grease, etc.

Over 50% of the wood used in the Aria and Crystals was built using wood from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests. During construction a concrete production plant was set up on site to reduce transportation of concrete to and from the property.  I’m sure Las Vegas visitors and guests appreciated not having that extra traffic too!  Local manufacturers were used whenever possible – most within a 500-mile radius.

In terms of design, one very cool feature is their indoor airflow system – the Aria, in specific, was designed to have air flow from the floor to the ceiling in order to lift smoke up and off the casino floor.   Most casinos have air flow from the ceiling down to the floor…which is why the smoke seems to linger.  Aria’s design makes for a more comfortable and healthy indoor environment.

There are ENERGY STAR appliances in all the residence/condominium units, low watt lights in the parking garages and non-toxic cleaning supplies are used.   They use a combination of window glazing, blinds and light-colored rooftops to help cut down on the energy required to cool the buildings.  But that’s not all…they generate their own electricity on site.  That’s right – they have a centralized power plant that uses natural gas to create electricity.  The emitted heat is then captured and used to heat the water in the buildings, rooms and pools.

In terms of water, low-flow showers, sinks and toilet fixtures were installed to help save an estimated 50 million gallons of water per year at the CityCenter.   Native and/or desert plants were used in the landscaping design as they will require 60% less water than traditional landscaping.

Alternative fuel options (CNG) were put in place for the Aria limousine fleet, however they do encourage walking and/or biking especially since the CityCenter was designed to have most major amenities and services available within a 1/2 mile radius.  Buses and the monorail are also located within about 1/4 mile of the CityCenter.  Guests who bike to the CityCenter, they will have full use of valet services and residents will have bicycle storage facilities in their building.  Employees, guests and residents who drive hybrid or electric vehicles will be rewarded with preferred parking.  Employees and residents can also earn rewards through Club Ride (a program offered by RTC of Southern Nevada to help reduce congestion and improve air quality).

Now, as far as environmental commitment goes, I’d say the CityCenter has done and is set up to do a pretty good job of raising awareness about the environment and sustainable living in Las Vegas.  Did they need to build all those buildings and new hotels in the first place?  Well, that’s a different story – but I seriously applaud them for their actions towards making Las Vegas more environmentally-aware!