Green Travel - Making Better Environmental Travel Choices

We all hear the term “global warming” all the time. During recent months I have started to read travel stories how the permanent ice cap of Mount Kilimanjaro is melting, how ski resorts in the Alps are going to be closing permanently due to lack of snow fall, how glaciers are melting in the Arctic, how increasingly more frequent and severe weather disturbances are disrupting tourism, and on and on the stories go. Some of these stories even exhort us to go now before some of these scenic places will be transformed or gone forever. Climate change has now become an issue of concern for global travelers.
Travel, of course, has environmental consequences. Long-distance travel involves the creation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, airliners are some of the most intense pollutants in existence today. In addition, wherever we go, we consume food and other services, and we create waste. So what to do?
As far as airplane emissions are concerned, there are actually a few concrete things we can do. There are ways of offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions generated by air travel by means of purchasing trees that will be planted to offset these emissions. At Trees for the Future, your US$40.00 will actually pay for the planting of 400 trees which will help offset greenhouse gases. You will also get a Global Cooling Certificate and bumper sticker. On their website you will also see a list of partners, including lodges and bed and breakfasts that are powered by renewable energy sources.
The Rainforest Alliance actually offers a variety of information to eco-savvy travelers. They also offer a sustainable tourism certification to tourism establishments which is based on methods for reducing the consumption of water, energy and other resources, and to improve the management, handling and disposal of waste. They even make a toolkit for best sustainable tourism practices available for small and medium enterprises in the tourism industry.
On their website, the Rainforest Alliance also advocates a number of simple eco-friendly behaviours that we can all try to follow:
• Support local economies by seeking out locally owned lodging and dining establishments, locally grown food and locally manufactured products and crafts.
• Patronize green hotels whose managers have programs that save water and energy.
• Stay on hiking trails. Clean up your own mess and dispose of waste properly. Keep a distance from wildlife.
• Travel by mass transit as much as possible.
• Avoid vehicles with two-stroke engines such as jet skis, scooters and certain boats, which are enormously polluting.
• Be culturally sensitive to local customs, greetings, dress codes and food habits.
• Treat others with the same respect that you would ask for in your own community.
Other eco-certification programs for tourism operators and tips for eco-savvy consumers include the following websites:
- Terra Choice - Green Globe 21- Environmental Choice - Green Seal - The Global Ecolabelling Network- The Climate Neutral Network
Another interesting website is Future Forests: it advocates a “carbon neutral” lifestyle, in order to neutralize our impact on the environment. Future Forests have been proving people with a variety of environmental gifts since 1997. You can dedicate a tree, for example, for $10.00. You can even plan carbon-neutral weddings with Future Forests.
One neat thing about their website is that they offer a really cool carbon emissions calculator that allows you to calculate your anticipated flying or driving emissions. I thought let’s check this out, so I entered some assumed data for a flight from New York City to London, England.
Instantaneously I found out that this flight would produce 1.22 tonnes of CO2. The calculator also tells me if I dedicate 2 trees I can make this flight carbon neutral. Alternatively I would be able to supply 2 energy saving light bulbs to a small community in the developing world. Both options would be £30. I also checked their carbon emissions driving calculator. If I travel 400 km (250 miles) every week in a car with an engine size between 1.4 and 2 litres, I would generate 4 tonnes of CO2 a year, which would take 5 trees to offset.
In addition to planting trees, you can also purchase “carbon offsets”. A "carbon offset" is actually an investment in a project or action with the goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. Offset projects come in many varieties and may include tree planting or reforestation, building retrofits (i.e. installing more efficient heating/cooling systems) or wind power projects.
According to the Better World Club's website, this is the way it works: you can book a flight through Better World Travel - Members and get a free carbon offset for their US domestic flight ($11 value.) If you book a flight through the Internet, another travel agency or airline, send them a tax-deductible donation to offset the CO2 emissions from your flight. ($11 for domestic flights or $22 for international flights.)
So the good news is there are indeed ways of counterbalancing the environmental impact that we all have, even while we travel.
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions(http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.
Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest(http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.
"Life is a Journey ­ Explore New Horizons".
The interview with photos is published at Travel and Transitions - Interviews
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susanne_Pacher

With Cheap Airfare, Travel is Limited Only by Your Imagination

In his book, "The World is Flat," Thomas Friedman argues that the beginning of the twenty-first century can be characterized by one word: globalization. While the Digital Age may or may not become the great equalizer, it has certainly given us access to a worldview that was unavailable to our parents and grandparents. A natural extension of the immediacy we feel when we watch videos about, read the blogs of, and listen to people from other countries is the urge to experience their worlds. Indeed, in survey after survey, when people are asked what they would do if they had true financial freedom, the top response is, "Travel."
Let Your Imagination Take Flight
Unfortunately, because of perceptions about the cost of airfare and lodging, travel experiences remain elusive for many people. But what if you had access to cheap airfare? What if you could get cheap flights to India, cheap airfare to Europe, or cheap flights to Dubai? Wouldn't the world become, proverbially speaking, flatter? And wouldn't your life be exponentially richer?
Technology and Experience Open the Doors to Travel
At the heart of the Digital Age is the Internet, which makes it possible for ordinary individuals to have access to many of the resources that were previously only available to "insiders." Cheap airfare is a prime example of the flattening of the world through the power of the Internet. Typically, two types of airfares are available: published fares, which are the prices quoted by airlines; and consolidator airfares, which are offered to a small number of high-volume travel agencies and which are deeply discounted. Because these travel agencies now sell tickets online, anyone with Internet access can buy a cheap airfare.
Beyond Flying
These same high-volume travel agencies have access to other travel bargains as well. For example, by booking with an online travel agency, you can also find steeply discounted cruises, lodging accommodations, car rentals, and vacation packages. In a sense, these online sources provide you with one-stop shopping to plan the vacation of your dreams, whether it's for India travel, an exotic cruise, or a whirlwind trip through Europe.
Finding the Best Online Travel Bargains
Whether you're looking for a bargain trip to Orlando or cheap international airfare, be sure to select an online travel agency that is reputable. Look for an agency that was founded by experienced travel industry professionals, and that has been online for at least five years. The agency should be endorsed by the International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN), and should be experienced in helping both individuals and corporate customers book their vacations, trips, and group travel. In addition, make sure the agency offers you a variety of contact options, from an online quote form to a toll free number.
Don't let your preconceived notions of the costs of travel keep you from experiencing the world firsthand. With cheap airfare and a reputable online travel agency, your destination is limited only by your imagination.
Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Learn more about See the World with Cheap Airfare or Majon's Travel directory
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Robertson

Top Internet Home Based Business In Travel

A top Internet home based business in travel is a very viable preposition indeed. This is because of several reasons and we will mention some of them in this article.
The first reason why getting involved in a top Internet home based business makes a lot of sense is the fact that the world travel industry is one of the very few world industries that is not in decline. In fact thanks mainly to the World Wide Web, which seems to have fueled lots of traveling for both business and pleasure, the travel industry has been growing steadily in recent times.
Not even 9/11 and the disastrous after effects that are still affecting us all, has managed to halt the travel industry's consistent growth. This is one of the main reasons why this industry has to be classified amongst the top Internet home based business opportunities anybody can get involved with today.
The advantages of going into a business based on an industry that is experiencing growth are obvious. Growth and ultimately success is much more likely for a top Internet home based business that is in a growth industry than it is for one which is not.
Also, there is no ignoring the fact that some of the most successful top Internet home based business affiliates are in a travel related industry. This is one industry that is a natural for an Internet business. The World Wide Web makes it very easy to market with photographs, videos and 3D images that can give one a pretty accurate feel of what a hotel suite or travel destination really feels like, long before one has actually arrived there.
It is really difficult to compete with a top Internet home based business that is related to the travel industry.
Learn more about the best home business opportunity from a blogger who rakes in thousands of dollars... and growing from their home business.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Kyalo