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If you have the itch and the dough to travel, now is certainly the time. Costs are low as airlines scramble to fill their seats in this terrible economy. But don't leave your true eco-self at home when you're away, bring it with you. Visit countries that have the same green philosophy as you. Which ones? Well, according to Be More Eco's list you have quite a few choices.
If you're simply spinning the globe deciding where to jaunt to next, here are my favorite globe trot worthy countries.
- Costa Rica
Costa Rica has long had to take good care of their eco-system considering the role it plays in their economy. That's a good thing because 5 percent of the world's biodiversity is contained in this one country. A full quarter of the nation is devoted to park preservation. Such as the Osa Peninsula, an awe inspiring rainforest marked by smiling Costa Rican faces, clean air, howling monkeys, and afternoon rainstorms. While everyone else found the weather rather strange and foreign, as a resident of the deep south, I found it normal. Humidity you can swallow, rain that hits like a tons of bricks and passes as fast as it came, and a sun that will burn you in minutes. Mountainside, you'll find less rainforest-y conditions. And oh yeah, Costa Rica was named best country for eco-tours in Treehugger's 2009 Best of Green. - New Zealand
The nation's relatively small population in relation to land mass has helped preserve its natural resources. It also hosted the 2008 World Environment Day and it developed the Environmental Risk Management Authority. New Zealand's Prime Minister, Helen Clark, has aspired for her country "to be carbon neutral in our economy and way of life." And if that wasn't enough she set the bar even higher with this proclamation: "I believe New Zealand can aim to be the first nation to be truly sustainable across the four pillars of the economy, society, the environment, and nationhood." Air New Zealand has even run tests with planes fueled half on biofuel. - France
The French government has long been a strong supporter of the Kyoto agreement and their eventual ambition of 54 million tons of saved C02 by 2010 is one of the more aggressive goals of any country involved in the agreement. Head to Provence via Food for Thought Tours where you'll handpick local organic ingredients for your hands-on cooking class, stay in a "Hôtel au Naturel," an eco-hotel committed to ecological responsibility. The hotel composts, uses all sustainable gardening techniques, a rainwater collection tank, and they are also located in a national park with access to major biking, hiking, and canoeing destinations. Travelers will go twice a week to the market in Riez to buy all their produce, which is sustainably grown. Travelers get to meet local jam, goat cheese, and honey producers as well as tasting the best that the area has to offer.
More on Green Travel:
Choose Your Own Eco-Adventure
How to Go Green: Travel & Outdoors
5 Easy Eco Travel Tips That Make a Difference
