Green Taxis are coming sooner than you might think.

New York City and San Francisco have adopted new policies to replace their existing taxi fleet with new green taxis. In New York, the "yellow" cabs are going to be completely replaced by hybrids by by 2012. The new standards will be phased in over a four-year period and will reduce the carbon emissions of New York City's taxicab and for-hire vehicle fleet by 50% during the next decade, and will also save individual operators an average of $10,000 a year in fuel costs.

NYC's "black" cars, the corporate limousine service, will also be replaced by more fuel efficient vehicles. Currently, black cars average 12-15 mph. The TLC will require fuel efficiency standards for new licensed black car vehicles of 25mpg in 2009 and 30mpg in 2010. There will be a retirement phase-in cycle that will ensure almost all vehicles associated with black car bases are more fuel-efficient by 2013. Black cars currently contribute 272,000 tons of CO2 equivalents annually, which make up 2% of the City's transportation related emissions. Switching to green cars results in more money for owners as well. Hybrid cars will save owner-operator drivers upwards of $5,000 per year in gasoline expenses - approximately 50% of their current fuel costs. These savings will allow drivers to cover, in just one year, the additional cost of purchasing a new hybrid car over the currently used Lincoln Town Car.

San Francisco is following suit by passing new legislation that will make the entire fleet of cabs "green" by 2011. Currently, about 15% of the city's cabs are either hybrids or run on compressed natural gas.

The impact of these changes are dramatic on several fronts. First, the resulting decrease in CO2 emissions is quite significant. Second, the demand for hybrid cabs will likely help improve the overall economics of producing hybrids by increasing production volume and this may end up decreasing the costs of bringing on new technologies such as lithium ion batteries. Finally, for the residents of large cities like NYC and San Francisco, there will be less ground level pollution resulting from idling cabs.

San Francisco’s Hotel Carlton is utilizing solar power facilities in order to offset the property’s energy use. Previously certified as an “official Green Business” by the city of San Francisco for several sustainability-focused initiatives, The 161-room Hotel Carlton boutique hotel, managed by Joie de Vivre Hospitality and located on lower Nob Hill at 1075 Sutter Street, has engaged a wide variety of environmentally-responsible practices. Hotel Carlton’s daily operations comply with all voluntary environmental regulations that conserve natural resources, prevent pollution and reduce waste.

Management had previously instituted processes that adopted environmentally-friendly non-chemical cleaning products, recycled paper, and soy-based inks, plus a comprehensive recycling program in guestrooms and hotel operations. Motion light detectors in guestroom closets along with low flow showerheads and toilets conserve energy and water. Organic products are featured in Saha, the hotel’s Arabic-fusion restaurant, and the soda machine has been replaced with a complimentary filtered water machine that also helps cut down on bottled water use.

Hotel Carlton partnered with San Francisco-based Sunlight Electric to install 105 solar panels covering 1,332 square feet on the hotel’s roof. The solar array is expected to reduce the hotel’s electricity usage by 12 percent, reduce the release of carbon into the environment by 33,000 pounds per year and save 4.5 acres of trees per year. Through a computer monitor stationed at the hotel’s front desk, guests will be able to monitor the total kilowatt energy generated by the solar power system. The balance of the energy used is being offset through the hotel’s participation with Carbonfund.org, making Hotel Carlton’s entire operation carbon-neutral.

Hotel Carlton

The green trend is quickly catching on as universities are now going the green route. In its first rating of environmentally institutions, the Princeton Review named 11 Universities as top green schools.

"The 2009 Green Rating Honor Roll" gave 534 college and universities a score from 60 to 99 based on a survey from the 2007-2008 academic year, developed by a panel of "experts in higher education green practices," according to the program's Web site.

Schools are judged on three criteria: whether students have a healthy and sustainable quality of life, how well the school is preparing students to work in the clean energy economy of the 21st century and how environmentally responsible the school's policies are.

Questions cover a range of topics, from energy consumption to transportation to educational opportunities.

The Top Rated Green Schools Include:

- Arizona State University
- Bates College
- College of the Atlantic
- Emory University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Harvard
- SUNY Binghamton
- University of New Hampshire
- University of Oregon
- University of Washington
- Yale

Princeton Review Green Rating

While a vast majority of hotels in the USA continue to stock phone books, Omni joins a growing list of hotel chains that are eliminating them to cut down on paper waste and present clutter-free rooms. Hyatt Hotels, Hyatt Place, Kimpton Hotels and several chains operated by Starwood Hotels - Westin, Sheraton, Aloft and Element - no longer carry phone books in their rooms.

Omni Hotels, citing environmental concerns, announced Wednesday that it will eliminate phone books in its 45 hotels. The current stock of 30,000 phone books will be recycled, the Irving, Texas-based company says.