Feb 19, 2008 11:48 am US/Central
Stay Green As You Travel
Find Ways To Make Your Trip Affordable, Too
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
When heading off on your next vacation, why not go
"green?"
There are lots of environmentally-friendly places to choose from. Early Show Plenty
magazine Editor Jessica Tzerman gave details on four of them.
She also suggested ways you can stay green yourself as you travel.
Galapagos Islands: Great destination situated 600 miles west
of Ecuador
in the Pacific; you can discover the very natural islands.
Chattanooga:
A walk-able and bike-friendly city; very eco-oriented, with local markets
Car-Free Islands: Dry
Tortugas National Park:
No cars, no pollution, and you can learn about the eco-environment; Eco travel
lodgings and campgrounds available
Burlington, Vt.:
Most sustainable city in America.
Galapagos Islands-about $1500/week: This is a place with a very fragile
eco-system. It's a true global treasure, with wildlife species that have been
there for hundreds of years and beyond. There are many untouched places. When
you're there, you can take a trip around the island and get up close and
personal with the environment.
Chattanooga, Tenn.:
Memphis loves to sing them blues, but in Chattanooga, the tune is
"Go Green." The river town has come a long way since being designated
America's
most polluted city in 1969. Today, 22 miles of once inaccessible riverfront
have been reclaimed for public use, and revitalization projects have made the
city a model eco town and tourist hotspot.
Car-Free Islands:
Take a break from the traffic, pollution, and gas prices and visit one of the
handful of U.S car-free islands, including Dry Tortugas National Park.
Some 70 miles west of Key West lies a cluster of
seven islands, composed of coral reefs and sand, called the Dry
Tortugas. Along with the surrounding shoals and waters, they make
up Dry Tortugas National Park. The area is known for its
famous bird and marine life, its legends of pirates and sunken gold, and its
military past.
Burlington, Vt.:
In this small city on Lake Champlain,
community pride and responsibility drive the urge to be green. More than one third
of the energy used in the city comes from renewable resources, an impressive
statistic in chilly New England. Burlington laws do not
allow the use of pesticides on public parks, land or waterways. Challenged by
their local leaders to come up with environmental priorities and solutions to
existing problems, residents formed an extensive network of citizen-based
groups that take on everything from environmental programs to cleaning up toxic
sites to watchdog groups monitoring pollution in the lake. With local
agriculture a mainstay, schools are switching to locally- and organically-grown
foods. The idea of sustainability is becoming part of the school curriculum so,
as Burlington's
children grow and take their places in the community-any community-they can
take a greener way of thinking along with them.
CONSIDER A CARBON OFFSET
This is a way to stay green as you go to green places!
Through a number of companies, tour operators and airlines, you can purchase an
"offset" to compensate for the eco-impact of your travel. A number of
companies now offer the service, usually providing mileage calculators on their
Web sites to help you gauge your emissions. In effect, you are purchasing
activities that are calculated to remove as much CO2 from the air as you
contributed through your travel. This is accomplished by funding solar and wind
energy, supporting tree plantings, etc.
For example: Travelocity is the first major online travel company to enable
customers to purchase "carbon offsets" during the checkout process
when they buy travel, as an add-on to your purchase during check out. A
contribution of $10 offsets an average trip including air travel, a one-night
hotel stay, and rental car for one person; $25 negates air travel, four-night
hotel stay, and rental car for two people; and $40 equalizes the effects of air
travel, four-night hotel stay, and rental car for four people. Travelocity then
gives the carbon offset funds to The Conservation Fund's carbon offset program,
"Go Zero."
LOOK FOR THE ECO SEALS OF APPROVAL
To help travelers evaluate their travel choices, from bungalows to beaches,
there are now "green" certification programs that rate environmental
and social impacts of hotels and other tourism businesses. They help travelers
make responsible choices. These include "Green Key," an eco-label
awarded to hotels, hostels and restaurants that have met environmental
standards. Or "Blue Flag," an exclusive eco-label awarded to more
than 3,300 beaches and marinas that have met strict criteria dealing with
issues of water quality and conservation.
ONCE YOU'RE THERE, PLEASE REMEMBER:
BYOB: Bring Your Own Bottle: To avoid waste and adding plastic bottles to
landfills, travel with your own refillable water bottle, or a bottle and
portable filter for international destinations. A great way to reduce your
waste footprint. (Rubbermaid makes a reusable water bottle with built in filter
to remove chlorine and odors).
Portable Solar Chargers include the Solio Charger, Hymini Charger, Solar
backpacks, Zegna Sport Solar Jacket. You have lots of options for clean
portable power.
And bring the 'good' green habits you may already have at home! The little
things you can do to conserve energy and reduce your impact such as re-using
hotel towels and sheets Hang up your towels and request that the hospitality
staff don't change the sheets-it saves water and reduces energy and chemical
usage. Use water sparingly-it's very precious in many countries and tourists
tend to use far more than local people. Take local transportation. And look for
organic food and products.
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