Little Green Lives

low waste living, permaculture, homeschooling in the Pacific Northwest

How to reduce the carbon footprint of your holiday travels.

sam JenningsComment
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This is my first blog post in a year, dear friends, where did the time go? It feels great to be back!

Before we dive on in, why not go make a cup of tea? Indulge in a few squares of your fav chocolate, too.

Some may consider that an environmentally conscious  life means one full of 'sacrifice'. Giving up meat. Going all-out to avoid single-use plastic. Buying only used clothes, or none at all. All in an effort to preserve the planet. And now, on the subject of travel, you're thinking 'My goodness don't tell me in order to save the planet, I can no longer travel....'

Firstly, I believe that being guided by your passion to preserve the planet can lead to a life of fullness. True appreciation and connection to the Earth comes when you embrace a more mindful existence. Secondly, you will be pleased to hear there are many ways travel can be enjoyed, all while treading gently on the planet.

When most people plan a vacation, they consider the location, cost of flights, what sights to see, what will the weather be like, but what about the environmental impact of the journey?  Carbon footprints, consumption. I wanted to share with you how our family of six put our passion for the planet at the heart of our recent travel plans. 

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2,685. That's how many miles we drove on a recent family road trip. The six of us journeyed across three states to enjoy some winter sunshine with family in California. Driving all that distance with four small kiddies might not sound like a 'holiday', and trust me, there were some challenging moments as we covered all those miles, but we did enjoy lots of stops along the way. We explored the magnificent Redwoods and Joshua tree National Park, chased waves and collected shells on the Oregon coast and even made a quick stop at the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco.

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In our home/daily lives, I have worked hard to cultivate a life where we create very little waste, very effortlessly. But out on the road, out of our bubble we had to be vocal and well-organised in order to avoid it. It was truly an eye opening and, honestly, heartbreaking experience to see all the waste produced by travelers on a daily basis in the US (toiletries in small, single-use containers, hotels offering only disposable plastic cutlery and plates at each breakfast etc.

Here's how we did it.

Our little box of reusable road trip goodness 

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This little box of tricks was with us every step of the way. It joined us for every hotel breakfast, every time we entered a coffee shop or restaurant, an accessory, tucked under my arm and placed on the table. Not once did I feel embarrassed to carry it, only proud. After all, who needs a fancy handbag when you have a thrifty basket full of low-waste producing goodies.

Here is what's in the box.

Cups and straws, bowls and cutlery, lunch box's (empty or full of snacks), re-usable coffee cups, cloths, containers for leftovers/take outs. Zip up cloth bags for dirty bits if we are out and about with no where to wash. 

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Wasn't it time consuming and inconvenient to lug this big old box around? Not really. I would describe it actually as empowering. My little bit of control over a broken system. When I think of the alternative, the quantity of garbage which would have been finding its way to landfill, I feel a big sense of achievement. 

At varying locations on our trip people commented, ' Oh what a great idea.' 'Oh so you like to recycle, good for you'. They praised our efforts. I'd like to think that maybe it even encouraged some to reflect on their own impact. 

Support local, small businesses rather than the corporations/chains.

Take a few extra minutes to find a local alternative to a chain serving coffee or food. Stop and ask a local. Go peek in on that small cafe frontage which you're not even sure is open. There are treasures to be found. Ones that directly benefit families by you supporting them rather than lining the pockets of corporate CEO's. Support those who support practices such as Fair trade, B corporations, organic farming.  

Take nothing but memories

You have heard the saying, but honestly, take away with you all that you brought in and don't leave with anything from the natural habitat you enjoyed.

Carbon off-set your trip

Last, but by no means least, offset your carbon footprint. Did you know that for less than the price of a new bikini, you can offset the carbon which was released into the atmosphere as a consequence of your Roadtrip or flight.

‘Carbon offsets are a practical and effective way to address climate change and encourage the growth of renewable energy. Here is how it works. ‘When you use energy or products manufactured with fossil fuels, you generate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to global heating and climate change. The combination of emissions created by your home, transportation and daily life is known as your carbon footprint.’ Native Energy

To offset our recent road trip, we decided to do so with Health in Harmony who recently launched its Carbon Offset program. 

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Health In Harmony is a non profit dedicated to solving global heating, understanding that rainforests are essential for the survival of humanity. Using the innovative process of radical listening, they collaborate with rainforest communities in Borneo and Madagascar to reverse deforestation and create the change the planet needs. They recognize that local and indigenous communities are the experts and guardians of precious rainforests, and work outside traditional disciplines to improve the health of rainforest communities in harmony with ecosystems and our planet.

Its takes just a few minutes. By the time your kettle boils for your next cuppa, you will be the proud owner of an I-just-purchased-5-trees-to-be-planted-to-offset-my-footprint smile.

Firstly, visit the website https://healthinharmony.org/offset/

Now, select your mode of transport (flight or by car) and do the calculation. The total mileage of your trip (ours was 2652.5) divided by the average miles per gallon during the trip, ours was 24.5 miles/gallon which is 109.6 total gallons of gasoline we burned on this holiday. The website informs us we produced 0.97 metric tonnes of carbon during our trip. To offset this amount we can purchase 5 trees to be planted in Indonesian Borneo, at $20 total.

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Why not just plant 5 trees here, in your backyard? Well the thing is, research suggests that - because of the tropical climate, rainforest trees grow more rapidly and sequester carbon faster than most other types of trees. So it's a bigger bang for your buck, in terms of global warming and planetary health. And without massive re-rainforestation, we have little hope of stabilizing the climate or biodiversity loss in the necessary time frame. Check out this great article: to learn more.

Of course planting trees cannot be the only solution to climate change. We must also reduce our overall emissions. Drive less, bike more. Buy less, because less is more.

Let's continue traveling and exploring this beautiful world we live in, but let's do so while being mindful of our environmental impact.

Thanks for popping by.

Sam