How to Travel with The Environment in Mind?
Transportation made our lives easier. Long before vehicles existed, people either walked or rode horses, sleds, and carriages, engaging on a tiring journey that lasts for days. However, this is a downside that we don’t experience. Cars, trains, and planes can take us to places in a relatively short amount of time.
Nevertheless, how we travel at present significantly affects the environment. Though speedy, the present modes of transports are hardly environmentally friendly. Cities are dusty, the air isn’t that clean anymore, and the earth hotter. For this reason, those who are concerned about the deterioration of nature promote green traveling or eco travelling.
What Is Green Traveling?
The practice of sustainable travel like walking if the destination is nearby, using electric or manually powered vehicles, and utilizing more practical modes of transport is what defines green travelling. Aside from transport, green traveling also pertains to the observance of sustainable travel practices that support eco-tourism.
Eco travelling isn’t hard to follow. All you have to do is do environmentally sustainable acts while on a journey. So what acts should we do to qualify as an eco-traveler? Let’s find out below
Day to Day Green Traveling
You’ll practice green traveling best if you implement it in your day-to-day living. And one specific aspect of daily living where it greatly applies is how you commute.
So how do you commute sustainably? A method that you’ll find very cost-effective is using bikes and e-bikes. Bikes and e-bikes are free of carbon emission. With that being said, they’re environmentally friendly – by hook or by crook.
Riding a bike is ideal if your workplace or school is just half a mile away from where you’re living. On the other hand, the e-bike is what you should go for if they’re further. The top speed of e-bikes is between 20 miles to 25 miles an hour. Therefore, they’re as fast as moderately running motorcycles.
You’re also saving the budget for fuel by riding bikes or e-bikes. For riding bikes, all you need is your feet. As for e-bikes, they can run up to 8 – 10 hours at most if fully charged. You don’t even have to leave them on the road if their battery runs out midway. E-bikes have a pedal assist function so you can use them as a normal bike.
As for alternative commuting options, here are some other eco travelling ideas that you might want to try:
- ride foldable kick scooters or foldable electric scooters
- hitch a ride from a co-worker
- take a walk
- ride a mobility scooter
- go for car brands that promote bi-fuel engines (Volkswagen for example)
Green Traveling During Business Trips
Aside from what you’re riding, green traveling also applies to your preferences about accommodation on business trips. While searching for a place to say, think about hotels that have environmentally friendly policies. These are the characteristics of sustainable hotels that you may watch out for:
- follow greywater recycling
- provide options for using organic cotton pillows, sheets, blankets, mattresses, etc.
- follow an efficient ventilation system (interconnecting spaces)
- operate an onsite restaurant that sources produce from organic local farms
- use non-toxic housekeeping and laundry
- utilize solar power for some facilities and amenities
- recycle bath water and laundry water for maintaining the garden and landscaping
As for travel options, choose public transport instead of Lyft or Uber. This might sound inefficient but know that Lyft and Uber produce unnecessary carbon emissions. Think about it, these vehicles only transport a single person per drop of fuel, where in fact, they could transport 2-3 people at once. But the best way to travel, if available, is riding the trams. Trams are electrically powered public vehicles. These travel along the major points of the particular place where you’re currently at for a business trip. Trams are relatively cheaper than buses, taxis, and other related vehicles. They’re your ultimate friend in as much as eco travelling during business trips is concerned.
Holiday Trips Green Traveling
As for holiday trips, prioritize tourist destinations that have a heavy concentration of attractions – meaning you go for locations where you don’t need a lot of trips to enjoy yourself. Think about places with interconnecting beaches, have at least 4-8 famous districts within a single city, and have a lot of tourist sites that aren’t far from each other (museums, ruins, temples, and galleries)
As for choosing a place to stay, what applies on business trips also applies to eco travelling during holiday trips. It would be even better when you are travelling with one of the eco-friendly luggages around
Saying that public transportation is also the best for getting from point A to point B on a holiday trip is a feckless suggestion. For vacations, public transportation won’t simply work, because you will be missing a lot of spots that tourists should see. That’s why rentals is the best option. However, think about sustainability still. Prioritize motorcycles as these have lesser carbon emissions than cars. Better yet, if electric vehicle rental is available, then go for it. For holiday trips the best electric vehicles for getting around are electric scooters, electric bikes, and electric cars.
Here’s an insider tip. If you’re wondering where to rent the best electric cars, try looking for a Sixt outlet on the premises of the place where you’re having a vacation.
Ending Thoughts
Green travel is all about doing practices that promote sustainability. These don’t have to be very grand like inventing a car that runs on renewable fuel or formulating a liquid that purifies polluted water. Small actions will do, and you can start by doing the tips mentioned here.