What do Vegas & Wawa have in common?

Last week I learned that a city and a corporation I never would have expected are both going green, and it was great to see.

Wawa, by far the biggest convenience store chain in Pennsylvania and one of the biggest in the northeast, finally put enormous blue recycling containers outside of its entrances (or at least at two of the Wawas I frequent). Since Wawa sells tremendous numbers of bottled and canned drinks, it was very nice to see the company taking the step in the right direction. I always said to myself that I wished Wawa would do something to recycle for its customers, since it sells so many drinks, etc. in recyclable containers. It looks like the chain is waking up to that reality. Bravo, Wawa.

A bit of trivia for those of you now from the northeast. Many people, when they see the chain Wawa, go “Wa-what?” I’ve got the answers to the questions you may be asking, straight from the horse’s mouth at Wawa's Website:

When people hear "Wawa" for the first time, many don't know what to think. They are not really sure if it's a play on words or an improper pronunciation of a thirst quencher, but there's no doubt that many find it funny. However, don't let our name fool you: we take what we do very seriously.

Over 100 years ago, our original dairy farm was built on land located in a rural section of Pennsylvania called Wawa, which was named from a local Native American tribe in honor of their favored game - the Canada Goose. Today, the name Wawa has come to symbolize the very best attributes of our company.

Just like a majestic flock of Canada Geese flying synchronously in "V" formation, we employ the principles of teamwork, group consensus and encouragement in our company. We think it's the only way to fly. And because of this philosophy, we've been able to accomplish feats that others would consider impossible. That's why, in our market area, our customers tell us that we define what a convenience store should be.

"Wawa" is a Lenni Lenape Indian word for the Canada Goose that was found in the Delaware Valley, that's why we use the goose on Wawa's corporate logo.

So, there you have it – the great store with the funny name explains itself. It can now add “a lil’ green” to its list of accolades, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.

The second case of cool environmentalism I found last week took me by surprise a whole lot more than Wawa though. It seems the city of sin is determined to lower its footprint in the desert. I got this information from a great article I read on CNET News.com.

It seems that Las Vegas city officials are taking the city’s environmental impact pretty seriously. One would probably think the only green the city of lights and decadence would be concerned with would be the green in gamblers’ pockets. Not so. (Above: The black strips on the roof are solar thermal collectors, which absorb energy from the sun and then heat a swimming pool.)

Vegas currently draws 300,000 acre feet of water per year from Lake Mead, the man-made lake that resulted from the construction of Hoover Dam. But, the city reclaims another 200,000 acre feet per year though water recycling efforts. A cynic might say this is out of necessity, since Vegas is smack dab in the middle of one of the harshest desert’s in North America, and that’s true, but the city still deserves credit for reclaiming two thirds as much of the water it takes from Lake Mead every year. This is encouraging, since levels in Lake Mead have recently been steadily declining.

The city is also paying residents $2 for every square foot of lawn a resident removes and replaces with landscaping. But, that’s just the beginning.

Las Vegas also has two hydrogen filling stations that power a number of government-owned hydrogen-powered utility vehicles and pick-up trucks. The vehicles never stray too far from a filling station, but it’s a start. I’ve read a few things about hydrogen-powered vehicles, and everything I read says that hydrogen vehicles are decades away from being mainstream, but for every combustion engine vehicle a federal, state or local government takes off the road, that’s one less vehicle belching carbon out its exhaust pipe.

Most encouraging of all is the city’s love affair with solar power. I was shocked to read the extensiveness of Vegas’ solar program. Underground pumping stations that pump water into the city are making extensive use of solar power; four of the city’s five pumping stations currently sport solar panels on their roofs; and a fifth will be added soon.

The city still has a way to go, though – the system isn’t completely synchronized; the panels aren’t collecting energy in the evening, and that’s mostly when the pumping stations are meeting high demand, so collected solar power simply goes into the power grid. But, as the solar systems get tweaked and more are added, the kinds will get worked out, according to city officials.

A huge solar power farm sits right outside of city limits (Above). It’s enormous, with the potential to get a whole lot bigger. Next month, Spain’s Acciona Solar plans delivering power from Nevada Solar One, a 64-megawatt solar farm 20 miles outside of town. That’s enough power for 15,000 homes or 22,000 hotel rooms, said a senior vice president of Acciona.

The site has the capability to be expanded to over 2,000 megawatts of power, which is equivalent to two high-capacity nuclear reactors.

Nevada is requiring Vegas to get greener over time, too. One state law requires utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable resources and five percent from solar by 2015.

All of this is quite impressive for a city located in the middle of one of the harshest climates in North America.

What a pity, too; From what I’ve read, it appears that Vegas is doing more to limit its environmental impact than Philadelphia, the sixth largest city in America.

I’ll have more on Philly’s abysmal recycling record soon – I’ve been meaning to tee off on the city about how difficult it makes recycling for its residents.

Photos By Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com