Green Travel

You've probably heard about the growing business of "eco-tourism". Well, for those regular Joe's who still enjoy their Holiday Inn Express (and are then able prevent nuclear melt downs), you might be happy to learn that many hotels are taking steps to be more environmentally responsible. You've probably seen the little card (usually glossy plasticy paper = bad for the environment) hanging on the towel rack in your hotel room that says you can hang up your towel if you're willing to reuse it, or throw it on the floor if you want it washed. That minor step, done at thousands of hotels, surely makes a difference. Obviously, there's a lot more they can do.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the state regulators that businesses generally don't like, is encouraging more hotels to adopt more green practices. On this site, they offer quite a few decent resources for hoteliers to learn how to improve. Then, here they list the facilities that have received recognition of successful practices. Only 6 facilities are listed so far, with a few more applicants.

I, for one, will look to this list the next time I travel in Michigan.