ENVIRONMENTALISM AND GOOD HEALTH

After years of working with hotels regarding environmental issues, GHA believes it's critical that we understand that everything about environmentalism comes down to good health. It's very simple. If we are not ingesting by mouth, absorbing through our skin or breathing toxic products or residue, we are healthier.

Environmentalism and good health are VERY connected. Very few people realize how important the connection is between our
health and environmentalism. Everything we do every day affects our health and the health of others.

* If we are eating fruits, vegetables, meat and fish items that have not been treated with poisons and toxics, we are not ingesting the residues of those toxins.

* If we are not using toxic cleaning products, we are not breathing toxic droplets and fumes.

* If we are spraying any cleaning product INTO a cleaning cloth and not into the air, we are not breathing those fumes
and droplets.

* If we are not using toxic cleaning products such as bleach, ammonia and alcohol, we are not sending toxic waste
downstream to our rivers, lakes and oceans, so we are not harming fish and wildlife that we may want to eat.

* If we are using less energy because we are using fluorescent light bulbs, utility plants burn less coal so we are
breathing cleaner air.

* If our floors are covered with ceramic tile, linoleum, wood, etc. instead of carpet, there is less or no offgassing,
and the air we breathe is cleaner.

* If we do not have carpet in our homes and businesses, dust is not collected in that carpet, and the air we breathe is
cleaner.

* If we vacuum insect pests and use sticky or battery-powered traps for mice, etc. instead of toxic pesticides, poisons
and their residue are not harming our health.

* If we replace mowed areas with ground cover, lawnmower and leafblower exhaust fumes are reduced in the air we breathe.

* If we use vinegar, salt or boiling water to kill weeds growing through our walkways or driveways, we are not pouring
toxic weed killers into our soil which can leach down to and contaminate our fresh water aquifers.

* If we sweep outdoors with a broom (NEVER a water hose), we are protecting our fresh water resources.

* If we are purchasing local food products, those products are not being shipped thousands of miles spouting truck,
train or airplane diesel exhaust fumes the whole way.

* If HVAC filters are kept clean by regular replacement, less energy is being used and less dust is in our lungs.

* If we're cooking with stainless steel, cast iron or glass pots and pans, we are not consuming chemically-devised
non-stick coatings such as Teflon (an ingredient of which is toxic).

* If we are landscaping with native grasses, plants and vegetation that need less water, we are conserving fresh water
for future generations.

* If we do our best to not set fire to anything (don't burn trash, don't light candles, don't burn firewood, don't set
off fireworks, put out candles in restaurants), we and everyone around us won't be breathing soot and toxic fumes.

Article courtesy of GreenHotels.com