Going Green: Keeping your summer vacation green

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June 9, 2010

Going Green Bill Goss The Daily News of Newburyport Wed Jun 09, 2010, 03:51 AM EDT

With summer vacation season upon us, it's time to talk about staying green while traveling. Even the "greenest" among us may find that keeping our positive environmental habits can prove difficult when on vacation. There are some ways that you can enjoy your summer break and still keep your carbon footprint in check.

Driving

Before leaving for a road trip, ensure that your vehicle is in good working order and have a tune up and oil change if necessary.

Pack only what you truly need — overloading your vehicle reduces your gas mileage.

Have directions. Whether it is from a GPS, traditional map or written directions, make sure to familiarize yourself with the route. One wrong turn can cost you time, money and gas (as well as an unhappy family wondering "Are we there yet?").

Stick with the speed limit. Allow yourself enough time to get to your destination so you don't have to speed to get there on time and also account for rush hour when making your plans. Driving overnight or leaving early in the morning can often save you the headache of traffic jams, while saving you time, gas and money.

Public transportation

If you are staying in one area for your entire trip, check the types of public transportation available ahead of time. Are you going to a large city where you will find subways, buses and trains readily available? Make sure you know where they are in relation to your lodging and what hours they run.

If you are heading to a smaller community, you may find (especially overseas) that bike rentals are a fun option.

There are also many cities, where the public transportation isn't terrific but there is also little need for rental cars as you can walk to most tourist destinations.

Eating

If traveling by car, consider packing a cooler with a gallon of water and give each individual a reusable water bottle instead of plastic water bottles that get thrown out at each rest stop.

Also, fill your cooler with plenty of food so that you don't waste gas making extra trips on and off of the highway to get fast food and all the paper, plastic and Styrofoam waste that goes along with these types of restaurants.

When packing sandwiches and snacks, put them in reusable containers instead of plastic baggies — children will find Tupperware much easier to handle, which will keep your vehicle cleaner, and you won't be throwing out plastic at every rest stop.

Hotels/Lodging

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "The lodging industry spends more than $7.5 billion on energy each year. Reducing energy use by 10 percent across the industry could save $750 million and help reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 6 million tons annually."

Turn off lights and television when leaving your hotel room.

Set the thermostat to an appropriate temperature so that you are not cooling an empty room.

Unplug your cell phone charger and laptop when not in use.

Turn off lights and open curtains to take advantage of daylight.

Reuse linens and towels instead of having housekeeping remove and replace them each day to save water and energy.

Some hotels, typically in countries outside of the US, have the air conditioning set up such that the room key is required to turn on the air conditioning. So when people leave the room with their room keys, the air conditioning will be off and can only be turned back on upon the occupants' return.

Choose a hotel that has earned the EPA's Energy Star rating. Energy Star labeled hotels are independently verified to meet strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA. Hotels that have earned the Energy Star perform in the top 25 percent of hotels nationwide, use at least 35 percent less energy and emit at least 35 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than hotels without.

The online registry that lists all hotels that have earned the Energy Star is updated daily. Several popular travel search engines have also enhanced their online hotel listings to include properties that have earned the Energy Star.

Find hotels that have earned the Energy Star: http://www.energystar.gov/buildinglist

I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and a green one as well. With a little effort and care, we can help ourselves to a better and safer environment.

• • •

Bill Goss is the owner of Quality Systems Consulting Group in Amesbury. His website is www.merrimackvalleygreen.com. If you have any questions regarding Going Green, send them to merrimackvalleygreen@comcast.net, and he will answer them in upcoming columns.

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