{"id":353,"date":"2008-04-12T09:30:20","date_gmt":"2008-04-12T16:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/2008\/04\/12\/5-tips-for-a-green-vacation\/"},"modified":"2008-04-12T09:30:20","modified_gmt":"2008-04-12T16:30:20","slug":"5-tips-for-a-green-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2008\/04\/12\/5-tips-for-a-green-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips For A Green Vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by environmentalgraffiti<\/a><\/p>\n

Ah, Summer is almost upon us, and that means most American families are plotting madly to get out of town for a week.<\/p>\n

\"van\"<\/a>
\n Image from Kaydee did<\/a> on Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n

Never mind that the economy is in the tank, or that you\u2019ll use just under half of your vacation days at once\u2013 it\u2019s time to go to the beach! But wait\u2026 before you slam the kids in that minivan and speed off: there\u2019s a greener way.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Don\u2019t Travel As Far<\/strong><\/p>\n

In one of those special instances where environmentalism saves you a ton of money, the simplest piece of advice is one that most Americans aren\u2019t likely to follow, even in this hour of $4.00 gasoline: stay close to home. Heck, even stay home: if you live in a major city, there are probably loads of museums, parks, baseball games, and restaurants that you haven\u2019t been to. But if you MUST travel\u2013 try to stay within 100-150 miles of home. Your wallet, and the planet, will thank you.<\/p>\n

\"chicago\"<\/a>
\n Image from Stuckincustoms<\/a> on Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Find A Green Hotel<\/strong><\/p>\n

This may seem like a monstrous task, but it\u2019s not\u2013 check this registry of environmentally friendly hotels<\/a>. They\u2019re standing ready to assist in your eco-escape, conserving waste, and committed to reducing their toll on the planet.<\/p>\n

\"B&B\"<\/a>
\n Image from Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n

3. Take the Train<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rail travel isn\u2019t quite dead in the U.S., which is good, because it features some of the lowest carbon emissions per-traveler of any form of transport. In order of most polluting, it goes: airplanes, cars, trains, and coach buses\u2013but I don\u2019t know many people who think of Greyhound as a good way to get around anymore. \u201cBoost that failing government-subsidized rail system, America!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Train\"<\/a>
\n Image from Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n

2. Buy Local Souveneirs<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is hard, seeing as how we\u2019re nationally addicted to airbrushed t-shirts and plastic toys, but buy local goods when you travel. Supporting a local artist doesn\u2019t just do more for the economy of the place that you\u2019re visiting, it cuts the cost of transporting all of those mass-produced tourist trap souvenirs. And besides, taking home art, or cooking ingredients from a place you can\u2019t get at home, is far more interesting.<\/p>\n

\"ron<\/a>
\n Image from Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Minimize Waste<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know, that seems like a gimme\u2013 but it\u2019s not. Turn off your thermostat when you\u2019re not home. Take the pets to a sitter, or board them, rather than leaving them in the house with some neighbor stopping in to check on them. Pack a couple of water bottles so you don\u2019t have to buy bottles of water everywhere you go. Common sense still applies on vacation, as odd as that seems.
\n \"Lonely<\/a>
\n Image from Flickr<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by environmentalgraffiti Ah, Summer is almost upon us, and that means most American families are plotting madly to get out of town for a week. Image from Kaydee did on Flickr Never mind that the economy is in the tank, or that you\u2019ll use just under half of your vacation days at once\u2013 it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}