As part of the WordCount Blogathon, I’m participating in a guest post swap with Alexandra Grabbe who, along with her husband, runs Chez Sven, a bed and breakfast in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Chez Sven is a green B & B and Alexandra writes passionately about environmental issues in Wellfleet on her blog. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about Chez Sven’s green initiatives!
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Kermit the Frog is wrong. It’s easy being a green innkeeper. Anyone can do it, really. If you stay at a B&B, ask the innkeepers if they have considered going green. Here are 10 ways Chez Sven does its part for the environment:
- Low energy light bulbs
- High-efficiency, front-loading washing machine
- Line-dried sheets, weather permitting
- Organic cotton sheets
- 100% natural amenities and soap
- Green cleaning products
- Organic food for breakfast
- Recycled plastic, bottles, and cardboard
- Filtered water
- Books on the environment available
What is more difficult is sensing when guests are open to talking sustainability and environmental good sense over breakfast while they eat my homemade granola. I’ve discovered it’s possible to guide the conversation to the importance of green living. If guests show interest, I will share some of my knowledge on the perils of toxic chemicals in the environment, acquired two years ago when our utility company decided to spray five herbicides under the power lines, toxins that will end up in drinking water.
Sometimes we have guests from New York or Pennsylvania. Then I discuss hydro-fracking and how injecting toxic chemicals into ground water to obtain natural gas is a very bad idea. When guests hail from Germany, I praise their country’s recycling program, since Germany operates one of the best in the world, or ask how they feel about Germany’s recent decision to abandon nuclear power. Swedes? I congratulate them on the fact that Sweden has decided to ban GMOs in 2012. With guests from Massachusetts, I ask who their local rep is and how he/she votes on environmental issues. Recently I have been talking to everyone about the importance of Senator Frank Lautenberg’s Safe Chemicals Act of 2011, introduced into Congress last month.
So, my one small thing is raising consciousness, helping folks understand that by taking baby steps together, we can achieve significant change: getting our legislators to understand they can shift away from what corporate donors want every so slightly to embrace the larger picture, what the American people want: clean air, safe drinking water, ie. a healthy environment in which to live.
You can read my guest post on Alexandra’s blog here.
B&Bs where I stay often are doing most of these things. it's good that those in the hospitality field are working toward sustainable practices, and getting people to think about those things as they visit.
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