U. S.

Environmental Protection Agency

E-Clips
Prepared by the Office of Public Affairs

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Instructions for use:

This document contains links to media stories compiled over the last 24 hours.

To view a specific section (Air, Water, etc), click on the link below and you will be taken to the relevant section. To
view a story within that section, click “Jump to Full Text”.

AIR

CLIMATE CHANGE/ GLOBAL WARMING

ENERGY

HAZARDOUS WASTE

PESTICIDES

RECYCLING

STEPHEN JOHNSON

TOXICS

WATER

Air:

County Adds Air-Pollution Jobs, Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) (Phoenix ,

AZ)(Jump to Full Text)

Carmakers Defeated On Emissions Rules, Washington (DC) Post (Washington ,

DC)(Jump to Full Text)
Federal Judge Gives Boost To States On Limiting Vehicle Emissions, San
Francisco (CA) Chronicle (San Francisco , CA)(Jump to Full Text)

September 13, 2007 - 1

Judge Rejects Carmakers' Emission Suit, AP Financialnews (New York , NY)(Jump
to Full Text)
Court Rules Against Automakers In Global Warming Case, Detroit (MI) Free Press
(Detroit, MI)(Jump to Full Text)

Recycling:

Hotel Chains Grapple With Meaning Of Green, Wall Street Journal (NY,NY) (New
York , NY)(Jump to Full Text)

Air:

County Adds Air-Pollution Jobs

By Yvonne Wingett
Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) 09/13/2007
Phoenix , AZ

Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) via World Wide Web 09/13/2007

Source Website: www.azcentral.com

91 new positions part of plan to help cut Valley particulate levels Yvonne Wingett

The Arizona Republic

Sept. 13, 2007

Maricopa County will hire and train 91 people by next summer, mostly dust inspectors, to help clean up the
Valley's dirty air in response the federal government's order to make the air more breathable.

The new positions, all in the county's Air Quality Department, are among many measures approved this
week by the Board of Supervisors to help reduce levels of coarse particulate pollution, or PM-10. Those
particles can aggravate such illnesses as asthma and bronchitis and increase the risks of normally healthy
people.

Fifty-one of the new hires will be dust inspectors. They will more aggressively enforce dust-control rules,
more frequently check dust levels at construction sites and vacant lots, and respond to dust-related
complaints.

The inspectors will improve the county's response to dust-related complaints from residents, county officials
said, which numbered 3,081 last year.

September 13, 2007 - 2

The county will also add supervisors, administrative staff and other positions related to air quality.

The plan will cost the county $11 million this year, another $13 million next year, and up to $13 million
every year beyond, until the region is in compliance with federal guidelines.

The Board of Supervisors also committed to pave 19 miles of dirt roads over the next four years, increase
public awareness about pollution, and increase notification to the public about high-pollution days.

"This allows us to better respond to complaints, and we'll be out more frequently, as mandated by the feds,"
said Bob Kard, director of the Maricopa County Air Quality Department. "We've fallen a little short in some
cases."

PM-10 levels have risen far above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's acceptable health
standards.

The EPA directed regional leaders to figure out how to cut dust pollution by 5 percent each year until the
region meets the standards. The terms of the EPA's order require authorities to cut emissions from
Buckeye to Apache Junction and control pollution levels at 24 air-monitoring sites.

The Maricopa Association of Governments is in charge of crafting a plan that delegates cleanup jobs to the
county, the state and cities. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality submits the plan to the EPA,
which has to sign off on it. If it fails to come up with a plan that meets the EPA's requirements, that could
trigger sanctions and could lead to the loss of more than $1 billion in highway money.

Cities and towns across the Valley have committed to sweeping streets with special sweepers that vacuum
up PM-10s, paving unpaved roads, parking lots, shoulders and alleys, and restricting parking on vacant
lots. MAG is evaluating all of the commitments to determine what kind of impact they will have on PM-10
levels, Environmental Director Lindy Bauer said.

"The county's package could have a significant impact because the measures are regionwide," she said.

Maricopa County's new plan almost doubles the Air Quality Department's operating budget of about $16
million, County Manager David Smith said. The growth will eat into the county's expenditure limits, a state
formula tied to population growth and inflation.

Once hired and trained, the county's new dust inspectors will enforce dust-related rules.

"Keeping the (dust levels) down is a big challenge," Kard said. "If your drinking water looked like our air,
you wouldn't drink it because it's brown. You don't want to see what you breathe."

(c) 2007, azcentral.com. All rights reserved.

Audience 2359363 provided by Nielsen/NetRatings(Return to Top)

Climate Change/Global Warming:

September 13, 2007 - 3

Carmakers Defeated On Emissions Rules
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington (DC) Post 09/13/2007
Washington , DC

Washington (DC) Post via World Wide Web 09/13/2007

Source Website: www.washingtonpost.com

By Sholnn Freeman

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, September 13, 2007; D01

A federal judge in Vermont yesterday rejected an attempt by automakers to block individual states from
adopting their own standards for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Judge William
Sessions III of U.S. District Court in Burlington ruled that state action to limit greenhouse gas emissions
from new vehicles -- standards that originated in California in 2002 and have since been adopted by
Vermont and at least 10 other states -- was not preempted by federal rules on vehicle fuel economy. The
decision follows a Supreme Court ruling in April that the Environmental Protection Agency violated the
Clean Air Act by declining to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. It also comes as
automakers are confronted with growing public demand and governmental pressure to build more fuel-
efficient vehicles. This fall, Congress is to take up vehicle fuel-efficiency legislation that could bring about
the biggest change in fuel-economy laws since the 1970s. General Motors of Detroit and DaimlerChrysler
of Stuttgart , Germany , along with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and a group of Vermont car
dealers, had sued Vermont to block rules calling for a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
from vehicles by 2016. In his ruling, Sessions wrote that he "remained unconvinced" about automakers'
claims that they could not make cars and trucks with cleaner emissions. Sessions pointed out automakers'
"intensive efforts" in innovations including hybrid technology, clean diesel engines and alternative fuels
such as ethanol, to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. "History suggests that the ingenuity of
the industry, once put in gear, responds admirably to most technological challenges," he wrote.

Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbons from leaky car
air conditioners.

In finding that federal fuel-economy rules did not overrule those adopted by the states, Sessions wrote that
Congress, through federal law, had designated California the "proving ground for innovation in emissions
control regulations."

The states, environmental groups and the auto industry have clashed in the courts for years over global
warming. Last year, California sued six automakers, claiming that car and truck emissions damage the
environment and endanger public health. Following yesterday's decision, the governors of 13 states issued
a letter calling on car companies to withdraw other legal challenges to the California standards.

September 13, 2007 - 4

Environmentalists are pressing the Bush administration to grant California a waiver from the EPA that it
needs before its emissions standards can take effect. If California is granted the waiver, Vermont and other
states, including

Maryland , New Jersey and Connecticut , would be allowed under the federal Clean Air Act to adopt
standards identical to California's. If California is denied a waiver, the Vermont rules are invalid, Sessions
wrote.

Dave McCurdy, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said automakers support improving
fuel economy standards nationally rather than piecemeal. McCurdy, in a statement, said the alliance was
considering an appeal.

The alliance has argued that California's emissions rules are so strict that they would require extensive
design changes to vehicles, driving up prices and crippling sales. Industry lawyers have said the carmakers
have to take into account safety, performance and cargo space in combination with improvements in fuel
economy.

David Doniger, senior attorney at the

Natural Resources Defense Council , said yesterday that the auto industry should reevaluate its legal
strategy of fighting the global-warming rules, given yesterday's setback. "This should finally be the wake-
up call that car companies can't ignore global warming," said Doniger, who helped argue the Vermont
case. "Up until now, there's been a lot of green talk at auto shows. But they are fighting tooth and nail in the
courts to block any real standards, and today they lost."

Copyright/Plagiarism

(c) 2007 The Washington Post Company

Audience 8273025 provided by Nielsen/NetRatings(Return to Top)

Federal Judge Gives Boost To States On Limiting Vehicle Emissions

By Bob Egelko
San Francisco (CA) Chronicle 09/12/2007
San Francisco , CA

San Francisco (CA) Chronicle via World Wide Web 09/12/2007

Source Website: www.sfgate.com

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

September 13, 2007 - 5

States can limit vehicle emissions of gases that contribute to global warming despite the Bush
administration's refusal to do so, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting the auto industry's challenge
to a Vermont statute and spurring optimism among supporters of a pioneering law in California.

In a 240-page decision, U.S. District Judge William Sessions in Montpelier, Vt., emphatically rejected
automakers' central argument against the laws in both states - that the only way to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions is to increase fuel economy, an area regulated exclusively by the federal government.

"Nothing in (federal law) indicates that Congress intended to displace emission regulation by California that
would have an effect on fuel economy," Sessions said, noting that Vermont's law is identical to California's
2002 statute. He also denied the industry's claims that state regulation would make cars unaffordable and
unsafe.

The ruling raises the stakes in a separate review of California's law by the Environmental Protection
Agency. Sessions noted that the laws in California, Vermont and 10 other states that have followed the
California model will become unenforceable if the EPA denies California a waiver allowing the state to
impose stricter controls on air pollutants than the federal government does.

The EPA has been considering California's request for nearly two years. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has
threatened to sue the federal agency unless it acts by Oct. 25.

"Today, we won in court, and yet the victory will be a hollow one if EPA succeeds in stalling and ultimately
denying our request," said state Attorney General Jerry Brown, who argued California's case to the federal
agency earlier this summer.

In light of the ruling, "the EPA is going to be hard-pressed to say that the (state) regulations aren't feasible
or are too costly," said David Doniger, a lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council who helped to
argue the Vermont case and is taking part in a similar lawsuit in California.

U.S. District Judge Anthony Ishii of Fresno has scheduled a hearing Oct. 22 on a suit by car manufacturers,
who make the same arguments that they raised in Vermont. Although Sessions' ruling is not binding on
Ishii, it should be persuasive, said Doniger and other environmentalists backing California's position.

"This decision should put the nail in the coffin of the failed arguments of the auto industry," said Sierra Club
attorney David Bookbinder.

Schwarzenegger said in a statement that the ruling "marks another important victory in the fight against
global warming. California and other states will no longer be blocked by those who stand in our way."

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said it was considering an appeal. The organization's president,
Dave McCurdy, renewed the argument that the state laws are the equivalent of miles-per-gallon standards
and thus should be trumped by federal standards.

"Automakers support improving fuel economy standards nationally, rather than piecemeal," McCurdy said
in a statement.

September 13, 2007 - 6

The business-sponsored Competitive Enterprise Institute said the ruling would force automakers to produce
smaller and lighter cars that were less safe. The "real victims will be consumers, some of whom will pay
with their lives," said Sam Kazman, the institute's general counsel.

The EPA did not respond to a request for comment.

Both the Vermont and California laws require makers of cars and light trucks to begin reducing emissions of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases - considered by the mainstream scientific community to be a
cause of global warming - with the 2009 models and to achieve 30 percent reductions by 2016.

The lawsuit by auto manufacturers and dealers argued that the Vermont law conflicted with federal laws on
air pollution and fuel economy and, by injecting states into an international issue, interfered with the
president's authority over foreign policy.

Sessions, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1995, held a 16-day, nonjury
trial this spring. He then put the case on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court considered the Bush
administration's claim that the EPA lacked authority over greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

The high court rejected that view in April, ruling 5-4 that the emissions were air pollutants and that the EPA
must regulate them unless it comes up with scientific justifications not to act.

Sessions cited the Supreme Court ruling in Wednesday's decision, noting that the court found no conflict
between regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards. He also said automakers
have other ways to reduce the emissions besides increasing gas mileage - for example, using alternative
fuels and other technological innovations.

The judge likewise dismissed industry arguments that the state controls would conflict with federal
consumer and auto safety regulation by making cars more dangerous and less affordable.

The industry's expert witness testified that the state laws would increase car prices by $5,000 and force
General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Ford to stop selling cars in the affected states, but those assertions
were unsupported by the evidence, Sessions said.

"It is improbable that an industry that prides itself on its modernity, flexibility and innovativeness will not be
able to meet the requirements of the regulation," the judge said.

He cited testimony that increased fuel efficiency prompted by emissions regulation would save the average
car customer $5,000 over the vehicle's lifetime, at current gasoline prices.

Sessions also said industry claims of interference with U.S. foreign policy were unfounded because the
Bush administration, in presentations to international agencies, has cited efforts by California and other
states as evidence of U.S. progress on global warming.

Regulating auto pollution

September 13, 2007 - 7

The ruling: A federal judge in Vermont upheld states' authority to regulate vehicle emissions of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases, considered causes of global warming.

The California case: A similar suit by automakers, raising the same challenges to an identical California
law, is pending before a federal judge in Fresno. Environmental groups said Wednesday's ruling shows
there is no need for a trial in the California case and that the suit should be dismissed. A hearing is
scheduled Oct. 22.

The EPA: For nearly two years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been considering
California's request for a waiver that would allow the state to enforce its emissions law, which is more
stringent than federal standards. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the EPA's argument that the
agency lacked authority to regulate greenhouse gases. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has threatened to
sue the EPA if it doesn't act on the California waiver by Oct. 25.

Read the ruling: U.S. District Judge William Sessions' 240-page decision can be found at:
links.sfgate.com/ZTQ

E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/12/MNK2S4PLM.DTL

(C) 2007 Hearst Communications Inc.

Audience 3855324 provided by Nielsen/NetRatings(Return to Top)

Judge Rejects Carmakers' Emission Suit

By Dave Gram
AP Financialnews 09/12/2007
New York , NY

AP Financialnews via AP 09/12/2007

Source Website: www.ap.org

By DAVE GRAM Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press

MONTPELIER, Vt.

Vermont and several other states scored a victory on Wednesday in their battle to get automakers to
comply with rules aimed at reducing global warming.

A federal judge ruled that states can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, rejecting
automakers' claims that federal law pre-empts state rules and that technology can't be developed to meet
them.

September 13, 2007 - 8

"There is no question that the GHG (greenhouse gas) regulations present great challenges to automakers,"
Judge William Sessions III, sitting in the U.S. District Court in Burlington, wrote at the conclusion of his 240-
page decision.

He added, "History suggests that the ingenuity of the industry, once put in gear, responds admirably to
most technological challenges. In light of the public statements of industry representatives, (the) history of
compliance with previous technological challenges, and the state of the record, the court remains
unconvinced automakers cannot meet the challenges of Vermont and California's GHG regulations."

During a 16-day trial that concluded in May, auto industry executives testified that the regulations _ adopted
by California and 11 other states and pending in three others _ would not stop global warming but would
impose devastating new costs on the industry.

Slated to start phasing in as of 2009, the limits would require a 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide
emissions from cars and trucks by 2016, a standard the car makers have maintained would require
average fuel economy standards for cars and the lightest category of trucks of 43.7 miles per gallon.

For the rules to take effect, the Environmental Protection Agency still must grant a waiver applied for by
California under the federal Clean Air Act. California has won several such waivers in the past, allowing it
to set up more stringent vehicle anti-pollution standards than the federal government's and then for other
states to piggyback on them.

David Doniger, senior climate lawyer with the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of several
environmental groups that sided with Vermont, said the waiver request was given a big boost by an April 2
U.S. Supreme Court decision saying carbon dioxide was a pollutant worthy of regulation.

Doniger said the EPA could deny the waiver if it finds that achieving the carbon reduction standard was not
technically feasible. But he said automakers "threw everything they had," providing copious documents and
experts to try to persuade the judge that was the case, and he didn't buy it.

Gov. Jim Douglas hailed the court's ruling. "We were up against a very strong adversary in the auto
industry, but the law and the facts were clearly on our side," he said. "Most of Vermont's greenhouse gas
emissions are from motor vehicles, so if we're going to reduce our carbon footprint, we need to set high but
achievable standards for automobiles."

Dave McCurdy, president and CEO of a main plaintiff in the Vermont suit, the Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers, said in a statement, "It makes sense that only the federal government can regulate fuel
economy. Automakers support improving fuel economy standards nationally, rather than piecemeal, and
will continue to work with the Congress, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and EPA
to reduce our oil dependence while increasing fuel economy."

McCurdy said his group may appeal the decision.

Automakers maintained that cutting carbon requires improving fuel economy, since carbon emissions are
proportional to the amount of gasoline burned. And they said fuel economy, under a 1975 federal law, is
solely under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

September 13, 2007 - 9

The states argued that they can regulate carbon emissions as a tailpipe pollutant under the Clean Air Act.

California upped the ante in 2005 by adding carbon dioxide to its list of regulated tailpipe emissions. Other
states were required either to apply the enhanced California rules or revert to the federal standard.

Automakers filed suit in California, Vermont and Rhode Island. Vermont's case was the first to go to trial,
after a federal judge in California put a similar case there on hold pending the outcome of the April U.S.
Supreme Court decision.

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell, whose office represented the state in the trial, called the ruling "a
major victory. They (automakers) will appeal, probably. But for folks who are concerned about global
warming and environmental quality in this country and in the world, this was a good day."

A hearing is set for Oct. 22 in a similar case in California. But Matt Pawa, a lawyer who represented three
national environmental groups in the Vermont trial, said the Vermont ruling makes it likely the California
case will be dismissed.

"The persuasiveness of Judge Sessions' decision, we expect, should carry the day" in California, Pawa
said.

He called the ruling "a historic win for the planet, for Vermont, for the cause to curtail global warming, and
for the right of states to set more stringent limits on all kinds of pollution, including greenhouse gas
emission standards."

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.

Copyright 2007

The Associated Press

All Rights Reserved

The information contained in the AP News report may not be published,

broadcast or redistributed without prior written authority of The

Associated Press.

(Return to Top)

Court Rules Against Automakers In Global Warming Case

By Justin Hyde
Detroit (MI) Free Press 09/12/2007
Detroit, MI

September 13, 2007 - 10

Detroit (MI) Free Press via World Wide Web 09/12/2007

Source Website: www.freep.com

September 12, 2007

By JUSTIN HYDE

FREE PRESS WASHINGTON BUREAU

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the U.S. auto industry's attempt to block California and 14 other
states from setting tough new fuel economy standards, saying the industry had not proved the regulations
were illegal, unsafe or unattainable.

The ruling was a big loss for the industry in the fight over whether California and other states can require
more efficient vehicles to reduce emissions linked to global warming. The auto industry - Detroit and
foreign companies alike - maintain the standards calling for cars to average 43 miles per gallon by 2016
isn't achievable, and would force the industry to stop selling many models.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has yet to rule on whether California can proceed with its
standards, but environmental groups have expressed concern that the Bush administration will deny
California and other states permission to proceed while federal regulators create their own greenhouse-gas
controls for vehicles.

In his ruling, Vermont U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions found that the industry had failed to prove
either it could not meet the standards, that they would endanger drivers, or that Congress had forbidden
states from setting their own fuel economy rules.

"In light of the public statements of industry representatives, history of compliance with previous
technological challenges, and the state of the record, the Court remains unconvinced automakers cannot
meet the challenges of Vermont and California's GHG (greenhouse gas) regulations," Sessions wrote in his
opinion.

Automakers have a similar suit pending in California.

Copyright 1997-2005 Omniture, Inc. More info available at http://www.omniture.com -->

Audience 1235863 provided by Nielsen/NetRatings(Return to Top)

Recycling:

Hotel Chains Grapple With Meaning Of Green

By Tamara Audi
Wall Street Journal (NY,NY) 09/11/2007
New York , NY

September 13, 2007 - 11

Wall Street Journal (NY,NY) via World Wide Web 09/11/2007

Source Website: online.wsj.com

Marriott, Starwood Face Confusing Products, Standards In Bids to Make Lodging Environmentally Friendly

By TAMARA AUDI

September 11, 2007 Page B1

As director of Element, a brand of environmentally conscious hotels being developed by Starwood Hotels &
Resorts World Wide Inc., Nicholas Lakas picks his way across a landscape of so-called green products
each time he steps into his office.

Among the items: salt and pepper shakers billed as 100% recyclable; piles of towels and sheets made with
organically grown fibers; boxes of organic snacks; and a countertop slab made from recycled materials.

"We get so many products, so many phone calls," Mr. Lakas says. "I have nowhere to put it, and we are
always looking at it and evaluating it." He is shopping for environmentally friendly products -- from plates
and light bulbs to heating and air-conditioning systems -- to be used in the first hotel in the planned chain
of 90. Starwood announced the brand a year ago, pitching it as an environmentally and socially conscious
hotel room at a reasonable price.

The Hilton Portland & Executive Tower in Oregon meets the Green Seal standard; cards issued by the
"Green" Hotels Association; a hotel chair by Furnature, billed as organic and chemical-free.

As more hotels try to become more environmentally friendly, in part to satisfy customers they say are
increasingly demanding it, they find themselves in unfamiliar territory cluttered with "green" products and
hype -- but without many reliable guideposts for what's effective.

Major corporations including Marriott International Inc. and Hilton Hotels Corp. are studying options as they
make decisions on far-reaching environmental initiatives intended to appeal to consumers with a
conscience -- and at the same time save on water, energy and waste, without downgrading the quality of
service.

"We're currently in what you might call a discovery phase," says Kendra Walker, vice president of brand
communications for Hilton. "We're looking at best practices. We're looking at energy-saving light bulbs,
water-saving features."

One problem is that there isn't any single standard in the U.S. for what makes a hotel green. Nevertheless,
a myriad of products, organizations and consultants are offering their services or stamps of approval to
hotels.

September 13, 2007 - 12

"This is uncharted territory for us," says Steve Samson, vice president of rooms operations for Marriott
International. "You go on the Web and you see hotels are selling green hotel rooms. But what does that
really mean? What is it? That's what we're trying to figure out."

Marriott, which this year established an internal "green council" led by two executives, is examining its
suppliers and supply chain -- looking at everything from the kind of toilet paper they buy to how far towels
travel from cotton field to factory to hotel, which determines how much of a carbon footprint they leave.
Marriott is also asking its suppliers to demonstrate how they save energy, or use recycled products -- in
essence, to prove they are green. Vendors are scrambling to make their case to Marriott or risk being
dropped.

But confirming the alleged benefits of green products and methods is tricky, Mr. Samson says. "It seems
like once you make a decision about something, someone comes back to you and says, 'Yeah, it's okay on
that end but it's not so great in this other way,'" he says, adding that Marriott is considering hiring a third-
party consultant with environmental expertise.

Sensing strong interest and much confusion from the hotel sector, the Hotel Developers Conference, a
professional organization that hosts an annual industry meeting, plans a conference on environmentally
friendly hotels in March.

Some hotels have turned to established programs in their efforts to go green. Marriott, for example, in 2001
joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, which has given it public
recognition for using lower-energy flourescent lighting and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Marriott
touts its accomplishments on its Web site under the heading "Green Marriott."

A handful of hotels have gotten certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit group in
Washington that grades commercial buildings on areas such as water efficiency, energy use, building
materials and indoor air quality. Among them are a Hilton in Vancouver, Wash., and a Marriott at the
University of Maryland. But the standards aren't designed specifically for hotels, and retrofitting older hotels
to qualify can be prohibitively expensive.

Among other options, Starwood is considering getting certification for its first Element hotel, scheduled to
open next July in Lexington, Mass. Depending on what's decided, green measures could add 2% to 4% to
the planned $16 millon budget for the hotel, Mr. Lakas estimates.

Green Seal, another non-profit organization in Washington, has an extensive certification program for
hotels and motels. The evaluation takes up to three months and costs from $1,950 to $3,000 annually,
depending on the size of the hotel. Only 43 hotels nationwide have the certification. The group says interest
is picking up, and it is hoping to have another 20 hotels in Chicago certified by this fall.

The "Green" Hotels Association, a Houston-based professional group that charges hotels $100-$750 a year
to join, offers a list of approved vendors for products including water-saving toilets and chlorine
alternatives. But they aren't vetted beyond a requirement that they send company literature explaining how
the product is green. "We take their word for it," says Patty Griffin, president and founder of the association,
which has also since 1993 sold a cards to hotels that nudge guests to reuse towels.

September 13, 2007 - 13

But many lodging operators in the group report mixed results in their efforts to go green, even though
customers like it.

"There are so many companies promoting 'green products,' the challenge is doing enough research to
identify which products are truly green," says Dean Crane, vice president of engineering for Aramark
Harrison Lodging, with properties in settings from Lake Powell in Arizona to Glacier Bay National Park in
Alaska. "There are many cleaning products that just don't hold up or achieve what they are marketed for."

Write to Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com

Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Audience 2062271 provided by Nielsen/NetRatings(Return to Top)

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September 13, 2007 - 14