Green Travel Interview
April 8th, 2009 Posted in Leffel projects, Making a difference, Travel industry
Being a columnist for Transitions Abroad since I first got started in travel writing, I’ve done more than a few articles on environmentally friendly travel and reducing your impact. I wrote about these things 15 years ago when hardly any player in the travel industry seemed to give a crap about what they were doing to the environment, apart from a few forward-looking tour companies and enlightened independent hotels. Plus I get lots of pitches on eco-friendly clothes and gadgets for the Practical Travel Gear Blog, some legit, many not.
So I jumped at the chance to participate in the Earth Promise 21 in 21 interview series leading up to Earth Day. Each day they pick the brain of someone who is involved in some aspect of environmentalism. Here’s my green travel interview that ran a few days back.
If you’re looking for the easy way out by buying carbon offsets and organic hemp clothing, this interview won’t be much help. Laziness and green travel do not go hand in hand. Often what the media focuses on is prompted by a commercial pitch rather than lifestyle solutions that don’t involve much of an expenditure. As I have tried to stress before, like in this eco-friendly travel article, some of the most nefarious things travelers do are habits they don’t even think about: buying bottled water in plastic disposable containers, using new batteries every week or month instead of rechargeable ones, buying travel gadgets based on price alone instead of considering their impact on the environment.
But the other interviewees are luminaries who can rant more intelligently than I can on what will really move us forward in the future, not just on the travel side but on the legislative, technology, and international cooperation sides. So check out the Earth Promise 21 in 21 interview series, with a new person up each day.
If you would like to learn more about responsible and eco-friendly travel, about reducing your impact when you travel, here are some great resources:
Regular Green Travel News on the Perceptive Travel Blog
TransitionsAbroad.com’s Responsible Travel portal
Lonely Planet’s responsible travel tips
Sustainable Travel International
Related posts:
2 Responses to “Green Travel Interview”
By Jimmy on Apr 16, 2009
I know you review solar gear sometimes on yhour travel gear blog, but have you figured out if there’s any way to travel around the world without ever plugging into a wall socket? With/without a laptop?
By Jane Says on Jul 14, 2009
I have heard of someone recently that planted flowers everywhere he traveled. Could you imagine traveling the world over and leaving a trail of flowers everywhere you went. I thought it was kind of dreamy. We should all do out part to help Mother Earth, I really appreciated your blog on Green Travels.
Thanks from Car Rental Italy