Are You a Green Globetrotter?

 These are all components of an eco-friendly hotel. Low-flow faucets and showerheads reduce water use without sacrificing comfort. Using non-toxic cleaners is also important. Some cleaning products use toxins and harsh chemicals to get the job done, but these chemicals can also do a number on your skin and respiratory system, as well as the environment. Recycling is very important as well. Recycling a ton of paper saves about 17 trees, two barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for six months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution. 

Read more: 
How to Go Green: Recycling: Planet Green 
Green City Guides 
500 Places to See Before They Disappear
 

The farmers' market is always the best place to find sustainably grown foods that don't waste tons of fossil fuels to reach consumers. Buying from local, sustainable farmers and producers means that the food you eat doesn't have to travel the U.S. average of 1,500 miles to get to your plate. 

Read more: 
Support Small Farms - Eating Green is Easy
5 Strategies for Getting the Most from Your Farmers' Market

According to Forecast Earth , train travel is one of the greenest modes of transportation. It moves the largest number of people with the least amount of energy output. Amtrak's energy information Web page says that The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has reported that train travel is 18 percent more energy efficient per person traveling than commercial airlines. Air travel wastes a figurative ton of fossil fuels. One transatlantic flight for a family of four creates more CO2 than that family generates domestically in an entire year. 

Read more: 
Air Travel and Climate Change: Take the Train 
5 Reasons You Should Travel by Train

Why travel when you don't have to? Teleconferencing is one of the best ways to green your business travel because it means that you don't have to travel at all. There are many virtual conferencing Web sites. Choose the one that's right for your company.

Read more: 
5 Ways to Green Your Business Trip 
Get Down to Green Business at Opportunity Green 

While going carbon neutral is not the same as being carbon-free—no matter what an airline does to offset it’s greenhouse gas emissions--it’s still using massive amounts of fuel that are going to have significant impact on the environment. But Costa Rican carrier Nature Air is considered the world's first carbon-neutral airline. 

Nature Air first uses its yearly fuel consumption to calculate emissions. Then, working with the Costa Rican government, it assigns that number a monetary value. When the company started the project in 2004, Nature Air offset its 2004 emissions with a $12,322 investment in reforestation and habitat-protection projects on the Osa Peninsula, one of Central America's most biologically diverse rainforests. More recently, the airline has been looking to support alternative energy projects, including (the somewhat questionable biofuel) ethanol and pig waste as other ways to offset their client’s travel. 

Read more: 
Carbon Neutral Vacations in Costa Rica 
Globetrot to an Eco-Paradise—Make Plans for Panama 

According to Terra Pass's Carbon Footprint Calculator, a direct flight from New York La Guardia to Charles De Gaulle uses 5,648 lbs of CO2. Go on the Web site to calculate your emissions before you fly and try and always fly direct to reduce your impact. 

Read more:
Greener Skies for the Airlines? 
Air Travel Treehugger Style?

It's important to buy local, natural, and, if possible, organic products a souvenirs. A hand-carved sculpture made by a local artisan from local materials is a good choice. An organic t-shirt still takes massive amounts of resources to make (and is unlikely to have been manufactured locally). Seashells and other flora and fauna should never be plucked from nature or purchased; taking such a souvenir could potentially be damaging to a fragile eco-system.

Read more: 
Skip the Cheap Souvenirs  
Reduced Carbon Footprint Souvenirs: A Whole New Way to Give Gifts 

A staycation is a vacation that is spent at home enjoying the best your local area has to offer.

Read more: 
Untravel, Take a Staycation at the New England Aquarium
Sloth is the New Black 

Bringing your own organic coffee and reusable mug to make yourself is always a great choice. Wherever you go, selecting organic, shade-grown brew means that your beans weren't treated with chemicals and pesticides and were grown with regards to surrounding environs.

Read more: 
How to Go Green: Coffee & Tea 
Shade-Grown Coffee Protects Tree Biodiversity 

Scooters can get as much as 80 miles per gallon, and they cost about $8 to fill up. That's way cheaper than most cars on the road today.

Read more: 
Should You Buy a Scooter? 
30% of Americans Would Consider Riding a Scooter 

If you know that the place that you're going is short on green eats, pack your own to avoid having to eat low quality, unhealthy, and wasteful food when you travel. Research public transportation so that you don't have to rent a car or take a taxi. Use fewer fossil fuels by staying close to the sights that you want to see and walking as much as possible. Take the subway, the bus, or bike around. Remember, hotels can be one of the biggest energy wasters. 

There are myriad ways that hotels can go green, from energy efficiency upgrades, like using compact fluorescent light bulbs, to health-related green improvements, like switching to green cleaners or using low-VOC or no-VOC paints. 

Read more: 
5 Ways to Green Your Trip Preparation  
SustainStyle: Road Trip preparation including maps, snacks and more