Tacoma, Washington

I spent the majority of last week in Tacoma, Washington for a conference. During my time there it was pretty much cold and rainy everyday but the people were so nice and pleasant, like a little sunburst in the middle of a rainy day. One of the other things I noticed was the way the people in the Seattle area care for the environment.

The local power company, Seattle City Lights, has a program called Green Up where customers can choose to get a portion of their power from a renewable power source for an extra $3 to $12 dollars a month! WOW! And they advertise this on TV. What if Pepco or PSE&G, which serve 2 major metropolitan areas (DC and NYC), actually discussed, explained, and promoted the use of renewable energy to their customers? We could all be green thumbs with very little effort.

Also, I flew Alaska Airlines direct from Seattle to DCA. It blew me away that they recycle all the plastic cups used on board. Just think about how many drinks you have on a coast to coast flight that lasts about 5 hours...... now multiply that by about 70 (for your flight)..... then by 300 (for all the other flights).... You get the idea. I don't think people really understand the amount of garbage we generate, even in a short time period. Isn't it nice to know that there are places that take this into consideration.

Brown Tip:
Wash Your Cups!

I drink tea a lot and I know some of you drink coffee a lot. Instead of going to Starbucks and having your double mocha coco venti white chocolate latte in a paper cup, take your own reusable coffee cup or travel mug.

Most coffee and tea shops will give you a discount for using your own cup and, of course, it helps to reduce the amount of waste we generate.