Sustainable? or Cheap?

Ok... I am a big advocate of sustainability and "green" living and all, but now, after living in a sustainable hotel for over a week, I can't help but think that from a business perspective, it might just be a buzzword for hotels to operate more cheaply.

There is whole pamphlet about how our hotel is sustainable (seen above), and here is my take on the whole thing:

• For starters, I have added at least 5 minutes to my shower time. The restrictor on the shower head (used to reduce water) has made the water pressure so slow that I take nearly twice as long to rinse off. I am positive that I am using the exact same amount of water, but wasting minutes that I could use to do something else.

• Secondly, it says "recycle" on one of the containers in the hallways near the ice machine, but the bags are black and identical to the ones used in the trash receptacle. I have a sneaking suspicion that they end up in the same place - the landfill. Recycling is not rocket science, but it does take some effort.

• Also, they do this housekeeping thing with a light clean every day, heavy clean every 5 days, and no cleaning on the weekends... I didn't know that cleaning was bad for the environment? I agree, washing linens that don't need to be washed is a waste, but wiping down counters is not. I wonder if they employ less people because of it? That can't be good for the economy.

• The CFLs used for lighting are much better for the environment, but the color temperature is not as "homey." I find myself turning on more than one lamp because of this.

• The bulk dispensers are just OK in the shower for the shampoo and body wash. Long gone are the days of the little mouthwashes, conditioners, and lotions though. I wonder if this will affect the homeless shelters I donate them to?

All in all, the hotel is great. I appreciate the effort and especially the awareness it gives people about saving the environment. 2012 was the warmest year to date and that is pretty incredible when you think about all the people that think global warming is a hoax.