Results tagged “Green Guide” from Intelligent Travel Blog

Airlines have been tacking on fees for almost everything these days, and we're as tired of being nickel-and-dimed as the next guy. But we were glad to hear that San Francisco's SFO airport is the first in the nation to provide on-site kiosks that will enable travelers to help cover the cost of their carbon footprint. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

On Thursday [of last week], the Bay Area's largest airport unveiled three Climate Passport kiosks with touch screens that determine how many pounds of carbon dioxide a trip will produce, calculate the sum an environmentally conscious traveler should contribute to projects in San Francisco and California that help reduce greenhouse gases, then allow fliers to purchase certified carbon offsets.

A typical cross-country flight from SFO to Boston creates 1,999 pounds of carbon dioxide, and the suggested offset cost is $12.24. (The kiosks themselves cost the airport a whopping $190,000 to install.) The the funds collected from the kiosks, which are placed at the entrance to Terminal 3 and international terminals A and G, will go to the Garcia River Forest, a reforestation project in a heavily-logged region of Mendocino County, as well as the SFCarbon Fund, which will steer money to Dogpatch Biofuels, a bio-diesel fueling station in San Francisco.

While scientists still argue about the value of offsets (you can see a further discussion of that at National Geographic's Green Guide), many acknowledge that they're a worthwhile option for those who are also attempting to reduce their footprint in other ways. I think it's an interesting concept, and if anything, it gets travelers to think about the environmental impact of flying more often.

What's your take on the new kiosks in San Francisco?

Hitting the road this summer? Just because you're out of your comfort zone doesn't mean that your eco-friendly habits have to go on vacation too. Responsibletravel.com recently surveyed their readers about which travel faux pas they noticed most often in tourists. It's bad enough looking the part, do your best not to act it by avoiding these ill-minded actions.

1. "Littering - especially plastic bags."
2. "Purchasing illegal souvenirs or food produce."
3. "Wasting water in destinations which face shortages e.g. Spain."
4. "Leaving lights on."
5. "Leaving air conditioning on in hotel rooms when you're not in them."
6. "Purchasing mineral water in plastic water bottles when the hotel provides drinkable water for re-fills."
7. "Standing on coral reefs. It takes approx. one hundred years for one inch of coral to grow. By killing it you affect the whole eco system."
8. "Disturbing wild animals by getting as close as possible for a better picture."
9. "Throwing cigarette butts on the ground."
10. "Failing to take advantage of recycling facilities where offered."

Of course, there's hope for all of us, and lots of great ways to stay green while you're traveling. For more tips and ideas, check out Traveler's Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Travel. And National Geographic's Green Guide just launched their huge online package on having an eco-savvy summer, offering tips on what not to bring to the beach, a "How Green is Your Road Trip" quiz, and yes, even a buying guide to eco-friendly beer.

Got your own tip? Share it below.

[via Traveling the Green Way]

Photo: Vasjan Gulka, National Geographic magazine's My Shot

It's been 39 years since the first Earth Day, and National Geographic news has a great slideshow of photographs and stories from it's not-so-humble beginnings. But what's interesting is how the day has changed over time. Elizabeth Kolbert reports in the New Yorker this week that the first Earth Day was a "raucously exuberant affair..."

In New York, Fifth Avenue was closed to traffic. People picnicked on the sidewalk; dead fish were dragged through midtown; and Governor Nelson Rockefeller rode a bicycle across Prospect Park. Students in Richmond, Virginia, handed out bags of dirt (to represent the "good earth"); demonstrators in Washington poured oil onto the sidewalk in front of the Interior Department (to protest recent oil spills); and in Bloomington, Indiana, women dressed as witches threw birth-control pills into the crowd (no one was quite sure why). All told, some twenty million Americans took part..."

Today Earth Day seems a bit tame in comparison. Yes, there are concerts and other events, but in many ways the day seems akin to Arbor Day in our minds - a nice thing to recognize - but unless you're physically planting a tree it's more a manifestation of good feelings than a call to action. And indeed, there are numbers to prove that effect: In a recent Gallup poll asking Americans whether "protection of the environment should be given priority, even at the risk of curbing economic growth," only forty-two percent said yes. And in a poll from the Pew Research Center that  asked Americans about their priorities for Congress and the new president, "dealing with global warming" ranked at the bottom of the list.

So what can you do to raise awareness and share information about protecting our environment? We've got some suggestions here at NG. We're currently running a contest called GreenEffect, which will award $20,000 to the five people or groups whose green ideas will help bring about change. Our Green Guide offers tips for everyday trimming of your consumption and energy use. Our mission is "to inspire people to care about the planet" and we're working every day to achieve that end. So read, donate, or share what we're doing here with others, and you can help make a difference.

Photograph from AP