How do you get your Christmas tree noticed?

It's not news when you put up a Christmas tree in your hotel lobby. But money talks. When you adorn the tree with $250,000 worth of Swarovski ornaments, you get local news coverage. A clever tactic by the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver.

French fries to fuel

In New York, this company picks up used cooking oil from restaurants and converts it into biodiesel, a fuel with a low carbon footprint. Can all the spent cooking oil in the world replace petro-diesel? Probably not. But turning waste into something useful is generally a good idea.

CVS/pharmacy takes a stand on tobacco

I was in New York earlier this week and noticed that CVS/pharmacy has become the first national pharmacy in the USA to stop selling tobacco products. According to their news release:

"Ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health," said Larry J. Merlo, President and CEO, CVS Caremark. "Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose."

Smoking is the leading cause of premature death in the United States with more than 480,000 deaths annually. So hats-off to CVS for taking a stand on what should be obvious to everyone: companies in the health care space should not be selling products that are proven to cause harm.

Large scale public art is a show-stopper

This mural on W. Georgia Street in Vancouver is inlaid into the brickwork.

More art in public places

These sketches are posted in the change room at the Levis store in the Meat Packing District of NYC. It's fun local art in an unexpected place.

Architecture meets literary arts

Here's a clever bit of architecture at the Fairmont Pan Pacific hotel in Vancouver. Those words on the window sills are actually a poem visible from the street.

Compostable plastic

Speaking of composting, here's a progressive item. This paper cup at Teaja in Vancouver is compostable (not all that new). But the plastic lid is also compostable! Guilt-free takeout is upon us.

Composting at David's Tea

Many of us tea drinkers know that our tea leaves and bags are compostable. Problem is, most tea shops don't provide a way to compost them. Kudos to David's Tea on Bleeker Street in NYC for solving this problem.