Green Living Guide: Eco-Friendly Traveling

It is easy to be eco-friendly in your home or office. It can be more challenging to stay green while traveling as you might have less control of things while you are traveling or staying away from home. Nevertheless, if you remember the following tips you can go green while traveling.

• Green choice of transportation for your traveling needs - Every mode of transportation consumes plenty of non-renewable fuel leading to depletion and high levels of green house gases that affect the environment. An eco-friendly travel should economize on fuel consumption. If you plan to drive long distances, use a small car rather than an SUV to save gas. If you plan to spend time with friends and family at your trip's destination, try to share the ride and avoid using multiple vehicles. If you plan to fly, opt for a direct flight to your destination without stop-overs - avoiding additional takeoffs and landing can saves a lot of fuel. Use public transportation when it is available.

• Green food containers and storage - Use refillable water bottles on your eco-friendly travel. Avoiding having to dump plastic wastes on your travel. Plastics use a lot of fuel to be manufactured but often end up in landfills serving no purpose. Carry food in steel containers so that you can wash and reuse them. If not, use paper or plastic containers that can be recycled. And do recycle them after you use up your contents.

• Buying local produce - Buy locally produced food items. This cuts down transportation energy requirements involved in shipping the items over long distances. Besides, your support will help small local businesses thrive.

• Eating organic - Pack organic food items on your eco-friendly travel. At your destination, buy organic produce. Organic food stuffs are made without using harmful pesticides and fertilizers. They are good both for your health and for the environment.

• Staying at eco-friendly resorts or hotels - If your travel requires overnight stay, book a room in an eco-friendly resort or hotel which provides responsible recycling options for your wastes and follows water and electricity conservation, responsible recycling of kitchen wastes, etc.

• Preparing your home before your eco-friendly travel - Remember to adjust the temperature settings of your HVAC to maintain required levels before you start your travel. Turn off the power supply to computers, device chargers, TV, etc. These devices can draw energy even if they are powered off.

• Buying souvenirs - Look for souvenirs made from recycled materials like paper, plastic, etc. Many local artisans and small businesses use eco-friendly practices in their crafts to conserve their resources and keep the costs of their raw materials low. So finding a green souvenir should be easy.

• Taking digital photos - Take digital pictures on your trip and save them on your computer. Print only a select few pictures on recycled paper. Use recyclable ink cartridges in your printer - this will prevent electronic wastes from polluting landfills. Also use solar powered chargers and devices wherever possible while traveling.

Remember to conserve, reuse and recycle as much as you can when your travel. Planning ahead of time will help you optimize your transportation and stay for an eco-friendly trip.