Traveling Green

By the year 2020, it is estimated that more than 1.6 billion people will be traveling internationally each year. For those who are interested in sustainable travel this provides a certain dilemma. How can they protect the environment that they are traveling thousands of miles to see? Well, for those green globetrotters who do not want to leave a carbon footprint, there are some rules and tips they can abide by so that they won't have to have a guilty conscience during their vacation, which I'm sure happens to Americans alllll the time.

One thing that make a huge difference is the type of transportation that travelers take. Since planes and cars emit the most carbon dioxide, a greener way to travel is by either bus or train. Of course, this isn't always possible because flying may sometimes be your only option of getting to many destinations. When this is the case, you can revert to carbon-neutral travel. This is a relatively new phenomenon that is actually a very interesting way to justify flying in airplanes. In essence it is calculating your carbon footprint and then buying offsets, which are donations to help sponsor projects that produce energy without using fossil fuels or burning greenhouse gases. This green energy cancels out the carbon footprint that was created by the airplane. Some airlines now offer chances to pay for these carbon offsets to their customers. Passengers have the option of paying a fee based on the length of their flight that will go to projects that produce clean energy. For the people who are truly concerned with being more environmentally friendly, this is a great way to help out the environment without having to travel from North Carolina to California by car.

So now that you have done your part by flying carbon-neutrally, what about lodging? Most people think that the only way to stay someplace that is really eco-friendly is by living in a cabin in the woods for a few days. Now to me, this sounds awesome. But to someone who isn't very fond of sleeping right in the middle of nature every night this may not be the best conclusion that comes to mind. Luckily, there are other ways of green lodging that don't require flashlights and banging on pots that would surely be needed when camping out in the wilderness. Green hotels are starting to become more and more common around the world. What makes a hotel green is a number of things including composting their waste, containing gray water recycling systems, and being equipped with solar or hydro renewable energy systems. What makes these places even more amazing is that you don't have to sacrifice style. Most of them look just like any other hotel does, the only difference being that these hotels leave their customers with a clearer conscience. And a clear conscience leads to peace of mind, which is the one thing in this world that is truly priceless.


For more tips on traveling green, check out this website for a ton of great ideas.

http://www.independenttraveler.com/resources/article.cfm?AID=737&category=44


-Karl Lucas