10 Tips to Be An Eco-Friendly Traveler

Until recently, most travel, both business and personal, has followed an unsustainable model. With more people traveling each year, it’s even more important now to consider how our choices affect the global community.

Here are 10 simple tips to be a more socially-aware and eco-conscious traveler. While some of these tips may seem like extra work when planning your next trip, we must remember that we only have this one planet. If we want to continue enjoying our summer vacations every year (and allow future generations to also experience the beautiful cultures, flora and fauna of our world), then we need to be mindful of how our exciting travel plans can have either a positive or negative ripple effect on the communities we’re visiting.

1. Bring your own stainless steel bottle, travel mug or reusable bag. Travel with the mantra of “waste less, use less.” Water is so very important for you and our planet, and many places offer clean drinking water so you don’t need to purchase a new plastic bottle of water every day. Just refill your stainless steel one!

2. Treat the area you’re visiting with respect. If you’re white water rafting, hiking in the jungle or deep sea diving, remember you are entering the “home” of the natural world. Just like you wouldn’t want someone to come into your house and destroy it, they also want to live in peace. Pick up trash when you see it – don’t think someone else is going to do it! And most definitely don’t leave anything behind!

One of the most common things to do during a beach vacation is collect seashells. While they are pretty, they are also a part of the natural environment and often someone’s home. Don’t remove items from the natural environment; they have a purpose and are there for a reason.

3. Explore and discover. Try out the local culture and flavors; experience and learn about the community in which you’re staying. Choose to support locally-owned businesses and restaurants, not chains. Ask questions and talk to the local people; learn who they are, how they live and what they want out of life. Respect both the similarities and differences.

4. Offset your travel with carbon credits. Whether traveling by plane, train, car or boat, it’s important to purchase carbon offsets from a reputable company to reduce the harm we create when traveling outside of our local area.

5. Research the places where you’ll be staying and choose to support hotels that are making a difference and looking beyond the typical profit-only business model. Hotels that are truly sustainable will ensure their bottom line but also provide benefits to the local community and environment. Make sure they aren’t just green washing their claim of being eco. Find out if they hire from the local community, if they recycle and/or compost, if they use reusable soap and shampoo bottles (instead of the tiny plastic ones that just create more waste). There are lots of ways to green a hotel and it’s important to know if they have more than just a towel change policy and low-flow toilet.

6. Be mindful of your interactions with wild animals. Keep a safe distance from any wild animal and do not ever approach one. Never leave out food or feed animals in the wild. And please don’t use flash when taking photographs! How would you like it if someone was taking multiple close-up photos of you and having the flash go off each time? Also, do not purchase animals to take home with you or products made from animals. Whether it’s coral, wool, seashells or alligator skin, remember — it belongs to the animal who lives and breathes, just like you!

7. Choose to not participate in programs that hold animals in captivity. While it may seem fun to “swim with the dolphins,” it is not necessarily fun for the dolphin who is held in a tiny pen for his entire life. By not supporting these “animal” amusement parks and tours, we are decreasing the demand for them.

8. Be aware of the natural resources you’re using and try to reduce whenever possible. Turn off the lights and air conditioning/fans before leaving your room, take shorter showers and use the faucet only as needed. If traveling in an area where you’re unsure if the tap water will be safe, contact your hotel and ask them if they have a filtration system so you can fill up your reusable stainless steel bottle instead of having to purchase plastic bottles (which often do not get recycled and just end up in a landfill or, worse, a waterway that leads to the ocean).

9. Give back. Contact your hotel before arriving and ask if they have any volunteer programs you can participate in or if there are any materials you can bring for the local schools or community centers. On a recent trip to Costa Rica, I brought art supplies for the nonprofit organization, Earth Equilibrium. It was an opportunity to give back and support the local communities I was visiting.

10. Act as a positive role model for other tourists. Talk the talk and walk the walk!

Hopefully when you leave the place you’re visiting, it will be in the same, or better, shape than when you arrived. And just as a quick side note, you probably noticed that all of these things can also be done in your daily life. By living a little more intentionally every day, we can continue creating positive ripples in the world and protect our precious planet for generations to come.

Chrissy Gruninger is a conservation photographer and author, dedicated to helping others see the harmony in all that exists on our beautiful, yet fragile, planet. Her weekly blog, and most recent book focus on creating a healthier, happier and more harmonious life for all.

Photo credit: dddaantje

7 Eco-Friendly Tips for Raising Your Baby

When we decided to have a baby, we knew we wanted to keep the experience as eco-friendly as possible. What we found out is that raising an eco-friendly baby can be really fun and easy on both the earth and your wallet. Here are some tips to get youstarted.

1. Breastfeeding: More Than a Trifecta – Not only is breastfeeding the best way to start off your baby nutritionally, but it’s also better for the environment, your wallet and your waistline. How awesome is that? Imagine all of the cans of formula and bottles you won’t have to buy and how that helps the earth and your cash, while being confident that you’re giving your baby the absolute best. Plus, you’ll burn an extra 400 to 600 calories a day, making breastfeeding one of the best ways to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. (As our daughter transitions to solid foods, our next step is feeding her organically grown food.)

2. Organic Cloth Diapers and Cloth Wipes Are So Stinkin’ Cute (no pun intended!) – These offer another way to help save our earth by keeping a bunch of disposable diapers and wipes out of the landfills. There’s a feeling of pride that comes over me every time I snap on one of Kamea’s cloth diapers or use an organic cotton cloth wipe. Cloth diapering takes a few times to get the hang of, but you’ll be glad you did, and you’ll save money on diapers in the long run.

3. Co-Sleeping: Keeping Mama and Earth Rested – When you co-sleep you don’t have to spend money or waste the earth’sresources with a crib, sheets, mattress … heck, we don’t even have a nursery! And can I just say? It’s been the best way for this mama to get in lots ofsleep.

4. Hand-Me-Downs Are Hot – Here is an area that has really had an impact on the earth and our wallet. Thankfully we were one of the last couples in our circle of friends who started having kids,because we reaped some great steals. What a blessing to not have to buy everything brand new. Hand-me-downs are the ultimate “reuse.”

5. Eco-Friendly Toys Rock – First, reduce the overall number of toys you buy. (I know, it’s hard, because they’re so damn cute!) Instead, rotate in safe common household objects. Baby won’t care either way, and you’ll be amazed at how much fun a baby can have with something as simple as measuring cups or the cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper.

For toys you buy (and encourage as gifts from others), keep your baby and the earth happy with eco-friendly toys that are made from sustainable, BPA-free and organic materials. Old-fashioned wooden toys are especially darling, and babies like them just as much as plastic. With eco-friendly toys, you can rest easy knowing that your baby isn’t exploring toxic substances with his or her little hands and mouth.

And we all know that reading to our babies is of uber importance! Books are aterrific way of keepin’ it green, both for the planet and inside your wallet. Two words: public library!

6. Organic Clothes Rule – Organic clothes are a great and gentle option for your eco-friendly baby. There was a time when they were all expensive and hard to come by, but not anymore. You can now find cute, reasonably priced, organic baby items at places like Wal-Mart and Target, as well as scoring deals from websites like GreenBabyBargains.com and EcoBabyBuys.com.

7. Air Dry Laundry Whenever Possible – This is easier to do in dry climates, but you’ll score a double whammy in the summer. Not only will you reduce your electricity bill by not running the dryer as much, but you’ll also avoid having the dryer heat up your house during warmer months. When you do run the dryer, run it at night when rates are lower and the outside temperature is cooler. Air dry your cloth diapers for the ultimate in green.

These seven ways to raise an eco-friendly baby are easy to do. Whether you do one or all of them, you’re setting a great example!

Photo credit: stetted

4 Simple Reasons Why You Should Grow Your Own Food

We are very fortunate to live in a time when at any time of the day or night we can easily walk or drive to the store and have a selection of various produce available at our fingertips. With this luxury why would you want to spend your time growing your own food? I have a pretty simple answer to that: We are human. As humans, this is what we do. We grow food. It’s what we have been doing for thousands of years. It hasn’t been until the past hundred or so years that we have put the responsibility of producing food into the hands of others.

Who are these people that are responsible for growing and handling our food? And what are they doing to our food? How is treated? What are they spraying on it? Is that good for you? Is that good for the land? Who really knows? They could be professionals who have business interests more in mind than our health. What we do know is that if we go to the supermarket food will be there year-round. I am no scientist nor have I extensively studied this, but common sense tells me that this could not be good for us or for the land because it doesn’t seem natural or sustainable.

Some questions to get you thinking the next time you are in the grocery store buying food:

• Who grew that?
• How was it treated?
• How was the worker who picked it treated?
• Do these people have my best interest in mind, or are they just trying to make a higher profit?

In May 2009, I took control. I started growing my own food without any experience or land. During that time I was living on the fourth floor of a New York City apartment. All I had was my 2-foot by 3-foot fire escape that I turned into an organic vegetable garden. Despite the limited space, I was able to grow lettuces, kales, swiss chard, peppers, cherry tomatoes and a variety of herbs.

In April 2010, I moved to Los Angeles, where I started a balcony garden that I’m continuing to grow more food on. In comparison to my fire escape, the 13-foot by 4-foot balcony seems like a huge farm. Space is not an issue. If I could grow on a fire escape, you can grow given whatever space restrictions you have.

Here are four reasons to start growing your own food:

You’ll Appreciate Your Food More
By no means do I expect everyone to go out and start their own garden because I know that ain’t gonna happen. But what I do expect is for everyone to grow at least one herb or vegetable.
Why? Because it will open your eyes and change your relationship with food. It will help to re-establish that connection that we as a human race have lost. You will also appreciate the food that much more because you grew it and took care of it. Not only will you appreciate the food that you grew on your own, you will start to appreciate the food that you buy as well.

It’s Natural and Sustainable
Food supplies us with the sustenance and nutrition we need to survive. The taks of supplying us with food is not in the hands of other people. Look back at history. Civilizations were built around food. They were set up around areas that had access to fertile land to grow food. Think about everything that goes into food and what was built around it: growing, tending, harvesting, preparing, eating and sharing food. These days we just fast forward to the eating part, which we often do on the run. There is much more to food that just eating it (though that is fun).

Why if you live in the northeast part of the United States, can you get pineapple, mangoes and other tropical fruits year-round or at all for that matter? I can help to answer that question. It’s because the food is being transported from distances far away to get to you. Did you know that on average food travels about 1,500 miles to get to our plates? Now think about the oil and resources that go into getting that food to your plate.

You’ll Be Helping the Environment
We live in a great time where so much information is readily available to us at the click of a mouse. The downfall of that is that so much information is readily available to us at the click of a mouse. We are presented with all kinds of messages about how we impact our personal health and that of the environment. In reading some of the information out there, it feels disempowering to see something like the BP oil spill or the ice caps melting.

I wanted to do something instead of sitting back and letting someone else worry about the situation. It didn’t matter how small it was, I just wanted to do something. Food has always been a love of mine. I mean, who doesn’t love food? So I decided that I would grow my own. It would be beneficial to me and to the environment.

It’s Easy and Inexpensive
You don’t need to buy expensive tools and materials to start growing your own food. You can make a self-watering container for less than $5 out of recycled materials. You could turn a 2-liter soda bottle into a self-watering container or a hanging planter. These are some ideas to get you started. There are plenty of ways to make gardening cheap so you don’t have to invest lots of money. Check out my previous post on Crazy Sexy Life about Urban Gardening for the Everyday Person for more details.

Now you can get back to being human and growing your food. One plant will surely make a difference. Start growing some of your food today.

Photo credit: miss mass

What if We’re Wrong about Climate Change?

Every so often I get e-mails from people asking what I would say and feel if I was wrong about climate change. What would I say if, after dedicating years of my life to bringing attention to the problem, I found out there was no problem?

Well, first, of course, I would praise God in thanks that we do not have this catastrophe to contend with. Then, since many of the measures needed to deal with climate change have a lot of positive benefits, I would think:

1. I am glad we created 5 million or more new jobs here in the United States in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable generation.

2. I am glad we created a culture that relies less on foreign oil, so that our children can live secure lives, knowing that the energy rug can’t be pulled out from under them.

3. I am glad we have found a way to save people and industry billions upon billions of dollars by making the use of energy more efficient.

4. I am glad the millions of children who suffer from asthma can now breathe easier thanks to the fact that we aren’t pumping the air full of toxins from our exhaust pipes and smokestacks.

5. I am glad that, by no longer burning oil and coal, which releases gases into our air, we’ve put an end to acid rain and the devastation of our aquatic life.

6. I am glad that we created good, reliable, fun-to-use public transportation systems so that families no longer have to raid their budgets to pay for cars and gas.

7. I am glad we’ve stopped building suburbs, which are designed for cars, not people, and instead build villages where people can have strong community bonds that help make life fulfilling.

8. I am glad we now have fuel-efficient automobiles.

9. I am glad that we’ve learned as a culture to get off the work-more-to-spend-more treadmill that gobbles up resources and leaves us unfulfilled and instead turned to a way of life full of meaning and purpose.

10. I am glad we developed local, fresh food systems that care not just about filling bellies but what we put in those bellies.

11. I am glad that we have rejected the philosophies of survival of the fittest and competition for resources as driving philosophies and have instead embraced a philosophy of compassion and justice.

12. I am glad that we have come to understand that a sustainable society cannot work without supporting all of its people and that we looked for and found ways to improve the lives of everyone.

13. I am glad that we’ve come to see people rather than things as our most valuable resource and that, in embracing the respectful and loving principles of not wasting, we have learned not to waste youth in prisons but instead to get them help for their drug and alcohol addictions.

14. I am glad that, in realizing our resources are limited, we have come to use them to do what is important and to help each other rather than compete with each other.

15. I am glad that we have come to see education as the ultimate in sustainable industries.

16. I am glad that we have developed distributable, renewable energy technologies that allow kids in all parts of the world to have electric light; a resource which helps facilitate literacy.

17. The list goes on and on, but in short—I am glad that we have embraced the opportunities presented by the crisis of climate change in order to improve our society in ways we should have done anyway.

And now, to turn the question back on those who say that either there is no climate change or that it is not a serious problem:

What would they feel if we did nothing about climate change and they turned out to be wrong?

What would they feel if we buried our heads in the sand, ignored the problem, and then irreversibly damaged the planetary habitat that we depend upon for our health, happiness, and security?

Photo Credit: petter palander

Action is the Antidote to Despair

By Zoe Weil

You’re making all the right choices. You’re an organic locavore. Whenever possible, you bike, take public transportation, or walk instead of drive, and when you drive it’s a hybrid. You choose cruelty-free, toxin-free personal care products. You’re a member of a dozen different organizations all with missions you wholeheartedly support. Compact fluorescents? Of course. Bottled water? Never. Yoga and exercise? Regularly. A positive attitude? Absolutely.

But perhaps you, like me, have those dark nights of the despairing soul when you worry whether we really can turn things around on our beleaguered planet. You present a sunny disposition, but deep inside, you sometimes struggle with your own hopelessness. And then you head to your Zumba or Pilates class to sweat away your anxieties and have a shot of wheatgrass to give yourself a boost. You focus on your good choices to stave off any bad feelings lurking below the surface.

But there’s a way to truly lighten your soul, and that is to take all that passion that drives your healthy, humane and sustainable choices and put it not only toward your daily decision-making but also toward your active participation in affecting change.

Mahatma Gandhi was once asked by a reporter, “What is your message?” Gandhi had a big message, of course. He was trying to free his country from British rule using only nonviolent methods, and he was rarely averse to sharing his beliefs with others. But on this particular day, he responded to the reporter by jotting down on a piece of paper, “My life is my message.”

When I first read this, I was stunned by the universal truth of Gandhi’s statement. If Gandhi’s life is his message, I surmised, then my life is my message. Each one of our lives is our message, whether we like it or not. The real question then becomes, “Am I modeling the message I most want to model?” “My life is my message” became a mantra for me, and I sought to make sure that the choices I was making modeled the message I wanted to spread. Readers of this blog know all about this because you do it every day. And that’s fantastic.

But, and this is the hard (gelatin-free) pill to swallow: in today’s world with the huge problems we face, from global warming to escalating worldwide slavery to the horrifying rates of species extinction to unimaginable institutionalized animal cruelty, etc., modeling one’s message isn’t enough. We must also work for change.

There are myriad systems that need transformation: food production, electronics production, energy, schooling, conflict resolution (can’t we come up with an alternative to war?!), architecture, suburban sprawl, transportation, and so on. Even if our individual daily choices do have a positive impact, that isn’t enough to fully transform unsustainable, destructive, and inhumane systems into ones that are restorative, healthy, and just.

But here’s the great news: when we not only harness our energies toward making healthy daily choices, but also uncover our most creative and viable solutions to solve systemic problems, we discover that we have never felt more alive, joyful, and purposeful.

So, what issues do you care about most? What skills and talents do you have? What great ideas do you carry around inside of you that, if enacted, could actually help change an unhealthy system and create a wonderful new avenue for peace?

Here are some ideas others have enacted:

Dara O’Rourke got to thinking as he rubbed sunscreen on his 5-year-old daughter that he should look into what’s in it. When he found out that he was smearing toxins on his daughter, he decided that more people needed to know what he knew. With a team of scientists and researchers he launched http://www.goodguide.com/, creating a business that now allows each of us to learn all sorts of important information about our products. His work enables us to make more conscious choices aligned with our beliefs.

When Katie Redford was in law school, she visited Burma and discovered the horrifying human rights violations perpetrated on the Burmese by a military dictatorship in cahoots with a U.S. oil company. She then wrote a paper invoking an obscure law, the Alien Tort Claims Act, arguing that U.S. citizens have the right to sue American companies for their human rights violations abroad. It took nine years and a group of fellow lawyers to win her case, which set a precedent and thereby changed a system.

Mohammad Yunus was an economics professor in Bangladesh during his country’s terrible famine in the 1970s. He wondered what all his education was for if he couldn’t help his own people, so he went into the village and asked 42 people what they needed. Their answer? A combined $27 to bring rice to market. This launched the microcredit movement, which has since lifted millions of people out of poverty. Yunus created a new banking system so that people with no collateral at all could borrow small amounts of money. He has since won the Nobel Peace Prize. (Notice he didn’t win the Nobel Prize for Economics, but rather for Peace, because lifting people out of poverty creates peace.)

Joan Baez once said, “Action is the antidote to despair.” If ever those dark nights of the soul threaten your peace of mind, remember that your efforts to harness your imagination and creativity on behalf of meaningful, systemic change will not only make a powerful, positive difference in the world but will also bring you incredible satisfaction and sense of accomplishment.

What a wonderful combination: model your message and work for change, two sides of the same coin, one that will fund a peaceful, healthy world for all.

Zoe Weil is the president of the Institute for Humane Education where the world becomes what you teach. She is the author of “Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life,” “Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times,” and “The Power and Promise of Humane Education.” Visit her blog.