How To Travel Green
- December 18, 2008
- 2,361 Views
Writer
Rosemarie_Lennon
Music
Todd Mazierski
Voice Over Artist
Betsy Winchester
Actor
texistani
Be kind to the environment on your next trip with these simple actions.
You Will Need
- A green hotel
- Restraint while packing
- Public transportation or a hybrid rental
- Your own toiletries
- A carbon offset
- Eco-friendly destination
- Canvas shopping bag
- Coffee mug
- Water bottle
- A day flight
Step 1: Consider eco-friendly destinations
Consider taking a vacation with a small carbon footprint. Options include traveling by rail to an area where you can get around without a car, staying in an eco-friendly resort that’s made of recycled building materials and uses renewable energy, or booking a working vacation through an organization like Ethical Volunteering.
Step 2: Pack responsibly
Pack as lightly as possible to minimize the fuel required for transportation. If every American packed 10 fewer pounds, it would save some 350 million gallons of fuel a year.
Bring along a canvas tote bag, a commuter coffee mug, and a water bottle so you don’t have to use plastic bags, Styrofoam cups, and bottled water on the road.
Step 3: Turn off and turn down
Unplug all your electronics and appliances when you leave home for your trip. Lower your thermostat and water heater.
Step 4: Take public transportation
Take public transportation wherever you can — to and from the airport or rail station, and at your destination. Or rent a hybrid car.
If you’re flying, go by day. Due to complicated scientific reasons, night flights actually produce a greater warming effect than day flights.
Step 5: Pick a green hotel
Reserve a room in an eco-friendly hotel. If there is no certified green lodging where you’re going, choose a nonsmoking hotel that allows guests to reuse their towels and linens, uses compact fluorescent lighting and nontoxic cleaning products, and helps guests recycle.
Step 6: Use your own toiletries
Ignore those little plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion in favor of your own toiletries.
Step 7: Turn off the lights
Turn off every light when you leave your hotel. If you’re going to be gone all day, turn off the AC or lower the thermostat.
Step 8: Don’t waste paper
Take only the tourist pamphlets that you really want or need.
Step 9: Buy a carbon offset
When you get home, counteract the carbon footprint you left by making a donation to a charity that helps reduce greenhouse gas, like climatetrust.org or nativeenergy.com.
Airplanes, with their carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and methane emissions, contribute up to 3% of the globe’s greenhouse gas pollution.
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Comments (4)
These are some great suggestions, except for the one about taking a ";working vacation."; now that's an oxymoron!
over 3 years ago by Fab_C_Johnson
Now thats a way to be green!
over 2 years ago by MetallicHamsters
I really liked this video, very well done.
over 2 years ago by MKF
Yay! I plan on forwarding this to friends who travel frequently. You mentioned having a green hotel and www.EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com is a MUST-have resource for the eco-conscious traveler. They list specifics about a hotels green amenities even down to if they compost! Whoop that's my kind of information. Thanks for the great video resource!
over 2 years ago by gogreenyay
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