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Going Green: April/May

Global Warming and the Traveler

    Like it or not, when we travel we contribute significantly to climate change. Carbon dioxide pouring from the backs of our cars, RVs, boats and especially planes plays a big role in raising the earth’s temperature. It seems that we’re putting at risk the very sights we travel to: The atoll with our favorite beach is threatened by rising seas; the ski slopes in the Sierras and Rockies are endangered by shorter winters and shrinking snowpack; the coral reef we love to dive on is dying from rising sea temperatures. And yet we yearn to travel, see the world, meet new people and experience other cultures.
    The bad news is that air travel fuel efficiency in the past 40 years hasn’t matched air travel growth. On average, planes use about 100 gallons of fuel per passenger on a cross-country trip. As The Economist points out, a new Airbus 380 uses the equivalent of 3,500 passenger cars worth of power—as if each passenger drove six cars across the Atlantic. According to the 2006 edition of the Transportation Energy Data Book by the U.S. Department of Energy, when a plane emits carbon dioxide at high altitudes, it adds other heat-trapping chemicals, including nitrous oxide. The resulting brew could be two to four times worse for climate change than a similar dose from the tailpipe of a car.
    We can reduce our travel’s contribution to global warming by exploring our own backyards (think wine country, Disneyland, and California’s eye-opening natural attractions), or by traveling by train. Here are five ways to make a difference:
    1. Support green hotels and sustainable tourism companies. Visit state and national parks and hotels that are environmentally friendly. Many places, including some countries, need tourism dollars to save delicate ecosystems. Check out sustainabletravel.com for more information.
    2. Choose public transportation. In the past 20 years, motor gasoline has been responsible for 60 percent of U.S. carbon emissions. If you rent a car, look for companies such as EV Rental Cars that specialize in hybrid automobiles. And when car rental companies don’t offer EVs, ask why not?
    3. Leave the hardback books at home. While it’s impossible to quantify the impact of each passenger’s luggage weight, planes use more fuel and produce more emissions when they carry a heavier load. Take paperback books and leave them behind when you travel. Think of them as gifts to fellow travelers in honor of our planet.
    4. Eat, drink and buy local products when you travel. When you consume goods that haven’t been trucked in, you save a lot on CO2 emissions. Forgo the all-American products for local favorites—food, beverages and purchases that support the local economy while you help save the earth.
    5. Offset your carbon output. Theoretically, you can cancel out the CO2 you generate by buying offsets, not just for air travel, but for car travel as well. When you book a flight on Travelocity or Expedia, instead of collecting frequent flyer miles, you can choose to balance your carbon use through companies that plant trees and build wind turbines or solar power plants. TerraPass offers 1,000-pound carbon offsets, or the equivalent of a 2,000-mile round-trip flight, for $5.99; 5,000 pounds (enough to cover a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii) goes for $29.99. Check out terrapass.com.

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