Your mini traveling checklist
By Jade Christensen
Bonjour, hola, ciao, olá, hello! Winter is in full swing in Maine and I’m sure you are all thinking about traveling somewhere warm for a little vacation! This month let’s talk about the little things we can do to help create a more sustainable travel plan.
1. Use Public Transit
Let’s start with the biggest contribution to climate change while traveling, how we get to our desired destination. Consider public transit as a way to experience a city rather than Uber-ing. Also, flying currently accounts for 2.5% of the world’s carbon emissions (Ritchie 2024). To continue to reduce that number, start by finding ways to get direct flights to shorten overall airtime. For those of us in Maine, that may mean taking the bus or train down to Boston.
2. Book Sustainable Accommodations
While planning your trip, also take into consideration where you stay. If you are going somewhere tropical, look into staying at a local inn, or do a little research to find a hotel or resort’s sustainability plans. Tropical resorts often build over mangrove forests to create those pristine beaches and clear views to the water, while other hotels and resorts have sustainability in mind creating entirely eco-friendly experiences. While it may be small, it helps to take into consideration the sustainability of your hotel stay while booking your travel plans.
3. Shop Local
Now let’s talk about once we get to our destination. There are so many fun and amazing things to explore around the globe. The best way to help create a more sustainable economy is to support local businesses. When we are traveling we want to keep the money as local as possible.
- Choosing local restaurants. While we all can appreciate the comfort and convenience of chain restaurants, they do not give back to communities as much as local restaurants. If you can find farm to table restaurants that get as much of their food locally as possible that’s even better!
- Dive into the local culture. Visiting museums, taking tours of monuments, or participating in other cultural activities drives money not just to preserve those areas but also support local nonprofits that rely heavily on community and tourist support to stay afloat. Diving into local culture not only provides enhancement to your life but also ensures the cultural sites and activities will be there for the future generations to enjoy.
4. Bring a Water Bottle
Last but not least, let’s cover the simplest of all sustainable acts, bring a water bottle! I know we have all been told over and over again to reduce our plastic but staying hydrated while traveling is extremely important. Bringing your reusable water bottle instead of constantly buying plastic water bottles will save you some cash and also make a large difference in your footprint.
As you start getting antsy and planning your next vacation, please take these four easy steps towards creating a sustainable travel experience.
PCAT
Bright Ideas is brought to you by PCAT, which meets the fourth Tuesday of the Month, 6 to 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. FMI email: Portlandclimate@gmail.com or visit us on Facebook.
Sources
Our World in Data. Hannah Ritchie. April 2024. What share of the global CO2 emissions comes from aviation? https://ourworldindata.org/global-aviation-emissions
