Traveling Green

Photo Credit:  Some rights reserved by The Environmental Blog.

Making your travels a little more green.

So what exactly is green travel? Think traveling with a goal in mind to not only get to where you are headed weather it be for business, vacation, holiday, or any other array of reasons but to do it in a way that reduces you’re impact on the environment.You may even save some money in the process which is always a plus!

Some Simple Tips For Traveling Green Include:

Plan Direct Routes
While booking you’re flight, if you plan to travel via plane, try and grab direct flights to reduce the number of plane rides you will be taking. If possible, book your trip by rail instead of by plane. Rail travel emits way fewer carbon emissions than airliners. If you are planning on driving to you’re destination, utilize online services and maps that will point you in the most direct path possible to avoid unneeded detours. If your vehicle is not the most fuel efficient machine on four wheels, you may even consider renting a high fuel efficiency vehicle that will help keep you out of the gas station line and on the road to where you want to be. Traveling green, in terms of transportation, usually means travelling by public transportation as much as possible to reduce your overall carbon footprint.

Green Your Hotel
Once you arrive at your destination, treat your hotel or other accommodations as if they were your own home. Pretend you are responsible for the electric, garbage, and water bills. Switch off the lights when you leave, recycle you’re discarded items (many hotels now offer this service) and try not to use more towels than necessary after showering as this will help reduce many loads of laundry. You know you are traveling green when you book a green hotel that offers separate shelves where you can store towels you plan to use one more time before sending them off with housekeeping for cleaning.

Don’t Forget to Recycle
Recycling you’re water bottles, soda bottles, even one time if you plan on carrying them around with you will help save money and also be a wiser choice for the environment. If possible, purchase a stainless steel water bottle that you can re-use over and over again for things like water or juice, the initial investment will save you money in the long run. I suggest avoiding products with BPA, look for the “BPA Free” labeling before purchasing.

Unplug Electronic Devices
Turn off and unplug devices at home before you even head out the door. That phantom power from devices like televisions, coffee pots, microwaves, and other appliances will continue to utilize energy even while in the off position consuming senselessly while costing you money.

Reduce The Heat
Reduce the heat/AC in you’re home to a lower setting. If you are going to be away from home it’s not necessary to keep the climate at what would normally be a comfortable level as if you were home. This should be a given anytime you leave your home empty.

Also, check out some of these useful green traveling tips via this tweet:

Have fun on you’re travels and by following these simple tips you will not only help you’re wallet smile, you will help the environment smile as well. These are only a few tips and there are so many more a person can think of once they sit down and just make a plan. Make you’re plan and travel green!

(Advertise Here)

Steve Allen (19 Posts)

Steve is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon and loves covering topics centered on Oregon. He is constantly tweeting the latest news in the Portland region and is a welcome contributor to The Environmental Blog.

Subscribe to our Mailing List

Keep up to date with all that we do at The Environmental Blog. We are always trying to get the best environmental stories, news, and views that you want to read about. So why not stay in touch?

Reasons to JOIN US include:

• It's absolutely FREE!
• Get Green Tips You MUST know about.
• How to's on going green, saving money, and having fun.
• Keep up-to-date on our posts in cased you missed them.

Your Name:
Your Email:

Your privacy will never be compromised

You Might Like: