Airport Shuttles Going Green

While shared-ride transportation is inherently eco-friendly, many members of The GO Group, the world's largest airport shuttle provider, are going one step further.

GO companies serving San Francisco International, Seattle-Tacoma International, Milwaukee's General Mitchell International, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Puerto Rico's Luis Munoz Marin International are converting all or part of their fleets to alternative fuels - either compressed natural gas (CNG) or propane.  While GO companies in Los Angeles (serving all southern California airports) and Chicago (serving Midway and O'Hare) also are in the process of doing so.

CNG is a fossil fuel, while propane is a by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining.  Both burn cleaner than gasoline or diesel fuels, although CNG is considered the cleaner of the two.

Companies that convert to alternative fuels can earn a 50 cents-per-gallon tax credit as well other incentives from local government and the airports.

GO Shuttle Express in Seattle, which has 43 propane-fueled vehicles, began the conversion process last January and has 20 more systems to install.

According to J. R. Rowley, president of GO Shuttle Express, the fuel saving has been around $2 per gallon.  Maintenance costs, however, have been slightly higher due to the learning curve.

In San Francisco, GO Lorries has adapted 16 vans to CNG, with another 28 to be retrofitted for CNG by May. 

"The conversions are expensive," says Julio Bonilla, president, "but the fuel savings mitigate the cost."

As of December, GO Riteway Transportation Group in Milwaukee has moved 21 of its 500-vehicle fleet to propane, experiencing a $7,000 fuel savings since October. 

According to Jason Ebert, fleet and facilities coordinator, the maintenance costs are lower as oil changes can now be performed every 7,000 rather than every 5,000 miles as in the past. 

Ebert reports one reason GO Riteway opted for propane is that it is 90 percent as efficient as gasoline, which allows for a greater vehicle range than CNG, which is only 31 percent efficient.  Also, the cost of a propane conversion is one third less than the cost of a CNG conversion.

The GO Group LLC is a one-stop source for airport shuttles, which transport some 13 million passengers to and from airports in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Europe. Travelers can book ground transportation to and from both departure and destination airports at www.goairportshuttle.com.

The Radisson Blu Waterfront wins prestigious Green Tourism Business Gold Award

The Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel's introduction of a range of measures to help safeguard both the local and global environment and community in which the hotel operates has been nationally acknowledged by the Green Tourism Business Scheme.

The four star Jersey hotel, which is situated near to the Island's south coast Ramsar site of special interest, is the first hotel in the Channel Islands to achieve a Gold Award from the Green Tourism Business Scheme, the UK's leading sustainable tourism certification scheme.

Commenting on the Radisson Blu Waterfront hotel's assessment, Paul Jeffries from Green Tourism said: "This is an admirable achievement due to a range of outstanding good practice initiatives. Highlights include 'Eco Active Business' membership, excellent energy and water monitoring and strong commitment to local environmental and community projects. The hotel's links to, and promotion of 'Genuine Jersey' is impressive, and its involvement in local charities along with sponsorship of various sporting events and festivals reflects a strong commitment to sustainability in a wider sense."

Applicants to the scheme are scrutinised on over 145 separate measures covering a range of areas such as energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and more. Qualified advisors then award accreditations ranging from Bronze through to the highest achievable grade, Gold.

Peter Munns Chief Engineer at the Jersey hotel, St. Helier said: "We are delighted to have achieved the Gold Award from Green Tourism. It is our aim to become the industry leader in environmental management within the Channel Islands and whilst we are pleased with our efforts so far, we will continue to progress and do all we can as a business to improve our protect the environment."

SENTIDO shows its commitment to the environment

SENTIDO Hotels & Resorts are, they can confidently say, getting greener, with a new sustainability programme having been launched for the hotels in the chain.

The programme focuses on "integrating an environmentally friendly approach in everything we do," said SENTIDO MD, Stefanie Berk, and the benchmark is the Travelife Award.

Travelife is an independent certification system which evaluates accommodation and other service providers against ecological and social criteria. Depending on the outcome of the assessments, hotels receive a gold, silver or bronze award which is valid for two years.

Some 100 criteria are assessed covering a diverse range of subjects that include fair and proper staff pay, reduced consumption of bother water and energy, a reduction in the production of waste and a preference for purchasing goods from local suppliers. Two hotels have already been awarded Travelife certification; the SENTIDO Sultan Beldibi and the SENTIDO Perissia in Turkey.

The Sentido Perissia is a deluxe resort, with its attractive design, attention to detail and stylish ambiance. It is set on a peninsula and offers great views of the Mediterranean. The resort is situated amidst spacious gardens and not far from the historical and cultural highlights of Side.

The SENTIDO Sultan Beldibi allows guest to enjoy Turkish hospitality in oriental style. The spacious hotel is ideal for families and is set in a fragrant orange grove.

SENTIDO Hotels & Resorts can be booked on the internet portal www.sentidohotels.com or through tour operators such as Thomas Cook and Neckermann Reisen.

Cruise Ship Passengers Remove 1700 Lbs Of Rubbish In Beach Clean-Up

Cruise goers from niche market tall ship operator Star Clippers have removed an amazing 1,700 pounds of rubbish from North Friar’s Beach and Keys Beach in the island of St. Kitts in a beach clean-op operation organised by the ship's own on-board marine biologist, Mariano Peruzzo. This is the third time Star Clippers guests have take part in beach clean-ups, on this occasion joining volunteers from a local charity to rid the island’s beaches of plastics and other litter.

The marine biology team on board the flag-ship five-masted Royal Clipper have been resident for two years, carrying out research in the marine environments of the Mediterranean and Caribbean as well as leading dives, beach walks and conservation efforts and giving talks to guests.

This is the latest initiative of an ongoing eco-awareness programme operated by Star Clippers, one of the world’s leading niche cruise operators, owned and operated by passionate environmentalist Mikael Krafft, who commented: “As cruise ships get bigger and their impact on the environment is increasingly under scrutiny, we are increasingly concerned that Star Clippers’ three full-rigged, tall ships continue to offer a cleaner, greener way to sail – not least because their principle source of propulsion is wind power”.

 

Star Clippers’ vessels operate under wind power for up to 70% of the time. All ships use very pure, high-quality low-sulphur gas oil, for which Star Clippers has earned the International Air Pollution Prevention Certificate.

And all three ships’ crews operate on a ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ policy, while only eco-friendly, biodegradable products are used for cleaning on board the three ships.
 

More recently, the company has added a programme of guest lecturers and volunteering activities, which allow its guests to learn first-hand about the environment in and even play their part in protecting it.

Mikael Krafft says: "We at Star Clippers are passionately committed to preserving the environment and by offering more opportunities for our guests to learn and get involved, we hope to pass on our enthusiasm.”

Other eco-initiatives include the recent appointment of a qualified naturalist/marine biologist to accompany all cruises on the 170-passenger square rigger, Star Flyer, in its winter sailings in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua, providing passengers with first-hand information about the incredible diversity of flora and fauna in the region, as well as the volcanoes and cloud forests.

Indeed later this year, on 11th December one of Britain’s most renowned and respected authors, environmental campaigners, broadcasters and botanists, Dr. David Bellamy, will be on board Star Flyer in Central America to share with passengers the magnificent experience of cruising under sail, to host a shore excursion, to mingle with guests and to give presentations about the environment.

Including an additional three days land stay, the 10 night Central America holiday costs from £2239pp, with return flights from London, transfers, 3 nights’ hotel accommodation and the seven night cruise with David Bellamy, including all meals on board.

Star Flyer also carries a highly qualified dive master who will give talks on board on invertebrates, crustaceans, fish and marine mammals.

The company even has its `own’ dolphin, called `Clipper’, adopted through the Sardinia-based Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute’s (BDRI), which works to study and protect the wild bottlenose dolphins that frequent Sardinia’s Emerald Coast.

For details please call Star Clippers 0845 200 6145 or visit www.starclippers.co.uk.