LiveGreenNOW

By Traci Claussen

At this very moment, I am flying into 2010 at 30,000ft heading west over Mississippi with 1) an awesome tailwind, 2) a bunch of Buckeyes (OSU) on their way to the Rose Bowl, and 3) free WiFi internet compliments of Delta Airline’s GogoTM inflight internet service.

A fellow passenger displays his “Fresh Air Buddy” from EcoQuest, which he touts will clean the air in our (fittingly) exit row of pesky germs, allergens and toxins (nice lagniappe this time of year) while the Delta video screen informs us that they will happily take our newspapers or magazines to recycle for us. Welcome to the new decade of air travel!

A deeper shade of green

Make a resolution to leave decades of disposable Post-War baggage in 2009 with small shifts in your travel routine. Plan your next adventure to one of the greenest countries on earth (see previous post) then choose hotel and airline partners with eco-friendly business models already in place. Resolve to support those who braved the new frontier and never settle for a cheap substitute on the greenwash-bandwagon.

How toxic is your luggage?

Resolve to reduce, reuse, recycle even when you travel as we launch into a greener decade. Is your travel kit filled with chemicals that are harmful to the planet? There are many organic, everyday ingredients that pull double or triple duty on the road in even the most remote of locales. A great reference book for recipes on making earth-friendly beauty products is Micaela Preston’s Practically Green: Your Guide to Eco-friendly Decision-Making.

Giving back

Resolve to commit to at least one holiday that is dedicated to giving back to the culture of the destination you choose. This doesn’t have to mean third-world these days; there are plenty of cities within the United States that can use your generosity of time and support. Investigate local projects that can benefit from your expertise and incorporate at least 10-20% of your holiday to giving back.  After all, how much will you be taking away from their city/country?

Shop local, fair trade for gifts

It really isn’t enough that you can say you’ve bought items “FROM” that cool destination when your friend and family discover that it was made in China, Pakistan, India ~ unless you actually were visiting China,   Pakistan, India ~ you get the picture. Support local artisans, truly LOCAL artisans from wherever you travel.  Learn about how that product was made and what social impacts it may have with every purchase.

This ecotraveler believes in reading the signs of nature…with a rare Blue Moon occurring on December 31st, it may well be the best time to actually MAKE those REsolutions and help save the planet in 2010 and beyond.

Travel well, do good.  Have a happy & safe New Year’s Eve!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Eco Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.