On the Road
21. Minimize Your Waste
While traveling avoid buying disposable items for which there are reusable alternatives, such as Styrofoam food containers. This can be challenging with children in tow, especially if you typically use disposable hand wipes, and juice boxes at home, but it's worth the extra effort, says Thomas Kostigen, co-author of The Green Book.
"I was traveling with friends who have kids, and was just amazed by the amount of stuff people bring along for their children," adds Kostigen. "If they're used to mini-containers of everything at home, a trip is the ideal time to begin some new conservation habits you can continue at home. Use a reusable cloth instead of a disposable wipe. Put drinks in reusable bottles or cups. Bring along reusable containers to store snacks."
If packing a cup, cloth napkin, and plastic-lidded container isn't possible, then simply look for ways to minimize the waste you produce as you travel, such as purchasing products with minimal or no packaging.
"In researching The Green Book, we discovered that if one out of every ten products U.S. consumers buy had little or no packaging, collectively we'd send 5.5 billion fewer pounds of waste to landfills. That's about enough to cover all of Central Park in New York City with a 27-foot layer of trash."
22. Lend a Hand
Make a positive impact on any community you visit by giving back in some way.
"A simple thing like picking up the trash you see when you walk down a beach helps the environment," says Josh Dorfman, author, The Lazy Environmentalist. "Or you could participate in an organized river or road clean-up, or support the efforts of a local environmental organization. It really doesn't take a lot to make a difference."
Organized service opportunities abound for people who would like to combine philanthropic opportunities with travel. For example, you could join other Habitat for Humanity volunteers to help construct simple, affordable housing for people in need. The Habitat for Humanity Global Village Program gives travelers the opportunity to participate in short-term building trips as part of a team, which partners with local homeowners and volunteers in host communities to build simple housing. Global Village options are available in the United States and around the world.
International volunteer opportunities in support of sustainable, community-led initiatives are also available through Cross-Cultural Solutions. Volunteers can sign up for one- to 12-week structured programs where they work side-by-side with local volunteers. Programs are designed to match each volunteer's skills and interests. Service opportunities include working at orphanages, hospitals, and child care centers; teaching English; and sharing professional skills such as engineering, photography, or management.
For a list of additional organizations offering volunteer/service travel experiences, check out National Geographic The Green Guide "Haste Makes Waste: Learning to Travel" (www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/ecotourism).
23. Don't Pre-Heat or Pre-Cool
Since hotel visitors tend to spend more time out of their room than in it, setting the thermostat at a comfortable setting when you are actually in the room is one of the easiest steps you can take to save energy.
"The most important thing you can do in the hotel room is to not set the thermostat in the room to an extreme hot or cold temperature when you're leaving the room," says Stuart Brodsky, national program manager for commercial property markets for Energy Star. "Most every hotel, whether they have received the Energy Star certification or not, have systems that are so well designed that they will respond quickly to ensure that you're comfortable once you enter the room."
Energy Star suggests leaving the thermostat at an energy-saving level—8 to 10 degrees above (in warm weather) or below (in cold weather) your preferred comfort setting when sleeping or leaving the room for an extended period of time. When you wake up or re-enter the room, set the dial to your desired temperature.
Adds Brodsky, "The hotel guest has tremendous control over the heating and cooling system, and, in turn the hotel's overall energy efficiency. By operating the system as needed when needed, you'll be comfortable when you are there, and the system won't be running overtime when no one is in the room."
24. Shut Off the Lights
When you leave your hotel room, turn off the lights, television, and radio to save electricity. In the summer, close the blinds and/or curtains to reduce heat gain in the room. In the winter, open the blinds and/or curtains on sunny days to let in the sun's warmth.
According to Kostigen, "Seventy-five percent of the energy in a hotel room is used when the bathroom lights are left on for more than two hours."
25. Wash Your Own Clothes
Cleaning your clothes through a hotel laundry service is pricey and wastes water, says Kostigen. He advises waiting until you get home to wash your clothes or using a self-service Laundromat.
"Hotels wash each guest room's clothes separately because they can't throw everyone's laundry in together and then pull them apart. They have no idea whose clothes are whose," he explains. "That was a big dawning for me, because I never really thought about it that way. Now I think about all the extra energy and water that gets used."
