Timeshare reps hear climate change warning--June 9, 2008

Article Date: Monday, June 9, 2008

PORTSMOUTH – More than 120 representatives of the timeshare sales and resales industry met last week in Portsmouth to learn how they can play a greater role in protecting and preserving the environment.

Ray Sirois, IT Director for Wright-Pierce, a civil engineering firm in Topsham, Maine, was the featured speaker at the American Resort Development Association New England Regional Meeting.

Sirois is one of approximately 2,000 people worldwide who are trained to give the presentation about climate change that Al Gore gave in his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."

Sirois began the conference with a program called, "The Convenient Solution: Learn to Be Green." Among the facts presented: Nine of the past ten years have been the hottest on record. At the current rate of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, Massachusetts will have the same climate as present-day South Carolina and sea level will rise by 2 feet by the end of the century.

Nationwide, the production of electricity is the number one contributor to greenhouse gases, but in New England, it is transportation. Researchers at Princeton estimate that carbon emissions can be cut in half by 2050 using technologies that already exist, but need to be put into place. The solution must include a combination of technologies (solar, wind power, etc.) because the problem is so great and so pervasive.

Among those attending were executives from Dover-based Sell My Timeshare Now. President and CEO Jason Tremblay, said, "There are simple lifestyle changes we can all make that will have a dramatic effect on protecting our environment. Timeshare companies are learning to do what all industries must do — make the effort, and make the changes. The future depends on it."

Some of the simple, but effective changes discussed at the conference were based on a case study of environmentally conscious policies put in place at the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. These efforts included changes in water and chemical use, and in solid waste disposal; switching to more drought tolerant landscaping; using recycled material in Sheetrock and building studs in redevelopment; installing aerators on water faucets to conserve water; and providing soap bags for guests to take their soap home with them.

There are more than 1,600 timeshare resorts in the U.S., with 11 percent of them located in the Northeast.

Massachusetts leads with 46 resorts, followed by New Hampshire, which has 28 timeshare resorts.

Tremblay offered this budget-wise advice: "With over 4.6 million timeshare owners in the U.S., it is always an option to rent timeshares directly from the current owner. You save on your own vacation costs and you help another family during these tough economic times. You can enjoy considerable savings in a timeshare rental, and by vacationing near your home, you will help reduce fuel consumption."