Tips for Eco-Friendly Travel

For many families, summer travel like we all did a few months ago, is a tradition. Whether visiting family or friends, going to a class reunion, or spending a week in the outdoors, your travel plans don’t have to interrupt your interest in living in a way that is environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible.

Consider these eco-friendly travel items and practices as a way to streamline your travel and go green at the same time:

  1. Buy eco-friendly suitcases. New eco-friendly suitcases are made from a variety of recycled products such as ABS plastics, plastic pop bottles, and repurposed garment fabrics. Offering all of the conveniences such as swivel wheels and multiple zipped pockets, you’ll have plenty of room for all of the items that you need to take with you.
  2. Skip the towels. Many hotels now give you the option to reuse your towels instead of getting new ones each day. Why is that important? Hotels around the world literally use millions of gallons of water each day to wash bed linens and towels. Using your towels for more than one day – much as you would at home – saves water and detergent costs.
  3. Try public transportation. Instead of renting a car or driving everywhere on your vacation, consider using public transportation. Cost-effective and easy to navigate, city transportation allows you and your family to get where you need to go without gas costs or wear and tear on your car.

As you can see, there are many ways to make sure that your summer travel is just as green on the road as it is at home. Try these tips and have an eco-friendly trip!

Tips for an Eco-Friendly Summer

Well, next year, in the summer months, the fun will be in the air again. More family time, less work stress, and weeks that feel more like weekends are just around the corner. Since many of us change our schedules over the summer again, it is a great time to change a few habits that will help you and your family to have an eco-friendly summer. The Chinese know pretty well how to do this and they’re far ahead of us. Consider these tips for the best “green” season ever:

  • Control the cold air. After a hot day, returning to an air-conditioned home can be a great relief, but if you think about it, there is no reason to keep your house chilly when you aren’t at home. Programmable thermostats are a great way to decrease the amount of energy you use and save on summer cooling bills. Simply turn up the thermostat when you aren’t home, or even turn it off completely if you are on vacation.
  • Ditch your car. Summer is the perfect time to ride your bike to go and do errands. Whether you need to go to the post office or simply want to ride to the local pool, leaving your car at home gives you the chance to save gas and become more healthy at the same time.
  • Turn off the television. With kids home for the summer, the television may get left on even when someone isn’t watching it. Any home entertainment that can be shut off when not in use saves on electrical usage and wear and tear. Make it a summer rule to shut it off if it isn’t being used.
  • Be sun smart. With the sun’s powerful rays, health practitioners highly recommend sunscreen when outdoors and not only your house needs to get green, you need a green, “smart” office as well. Be careful though, because many sunscreens contain toxic ingredients. Look for a non-toxic sunscreen at your local health foods store and use that instead.

As you can see, having an eco-friendly summer is easy! Simply make some adjustments in your normal habits and you’ll save money and the environment at the same time but first, make sure your winter will be greener than before as well!

Shifting Our Energy Future

Efforts to make use of cleaner and more environmentally sustainable energy sources may hold the key to addressing the current energy and environmental issues that are casting doubt on our shared future. Learning more about the ways you can support long-term solutions, adopt a more sustainable lifestyle and ensure that our children will be able to look forward to a brighter tomorrow may not be an effort you can afford to ignore.

From working with the right utility provider to large-scale home and property renovations that can allow you to create a more sustainable lifestyle, there could be many opportunities available to those seeking to make a difference, also when you’re “greening-up” your business.

Electric and utility services that can offer end-line consumers power that has been generated in more sustainable ways could allow you to make a big difference through a very simple change.

Sites and services that allow consumers the chance to find and compare different utility providers can give you the information needed to find a more sustainable option. Switching providers can do much to reduce demand for fossil fuels, conventional energy production and to reduce the environmental impact that your home and lifestyle may be resulting in.

Conservation of energy, and creating a more efficient environment, can also make more of a difference than you might expect. Upgrading your appliances, investing in more sustainable devices and products, and doing all you can to ensure you are not wasting energy in the course of your daily ritual is an important part of the solution.

Biking, for example, makes you fitter, a real win-win! Educating yourself about the lifestyle changes, resources, and opportunities that can allow you to create the most sustainable lifestyle possible could be an important first step towards becoming a more effective force for change.

Spreading awareness about the limitations, problems, and damages that conventional energy sources have resulted in can be a difficult proposition for those who lack an understanding of the matter.

Energy-saving saves you money as well! Educating yourself about the state of the environment and natural world, the impact of industry, and the potential benefits that shifting our energy future towards more sustainable resources and solutions can ensure that you are able to more easily and effectively spread awareness about this issue.

With plenty of information and resources available to those who are interested in protecting the environment, learning all you need to can be done more easily than you might have imagined and will ensure that you can take a more active role in finding and implementing superior solutions.