Traveling the Green Way

The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution analysed the greenhouse gas emissions from the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States and concluded…
Greenest Metropolitan Areas, per Capita, 2005

Honolulu, HI
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA
Boise City-Nampa, ID
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
El Paso, TX
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA

Least-Green Metropolitan Areas, per Capita, 2005

Knoxville, TN
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
Oklahoma City, OK
St. Louis, MO-IL
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN
Louisville, KY-IN
Toledo, OH
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN
Indianapolis, IN
Lexington-Fayette, KY

(source)

Comments Off

                         
This is the ultimate guidebook for anyone who wants to travel green in New Zealand.
Full of information about eco-friendly places to eat, stay and explore, Organic Explorer New Zealand has opened up a whole new world of places for me to visit next time I’m traveling around New Zealand. It’s even highlighted a few places I never knew about in my own backyard.
Written by Leonie Johnsen, who used to be with NZ Organic magazine, this guidebook travels from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island, detailing places to eat, sleep, and play the organic …read more

2 Comments

Want to know if you’re traveling green?
Try out this quiz over at U.S. News & World Report.
Hope you did better than me. I scored 45, which, according to results, indicates that I’m “thinking about the environment, but there are still a few things [I] could be doing better.”
Luckily, they offer tips to help improve my traveling green status…

Comments Off

                          
                                        (image source)
Intercontinental Hotel Groups have opened what they call the world’s first ‘Green’ hotel. Only problem is that it’s not built yet. But that’s okay. You can visit this Innovation Hotel at the IHG interactive website and discover why IHG is calling it a world first green hotel.
The hotel’s plans focus on the four key action areas- energy conservation, recycling, water conservation and destination conservation – by installing solar water heating, windpower electricity, toilets that flush harvested rainwater, furniture made from recycled materials, and local products wherever possible.
It all looks good on paper, or in this case, the computer …read more

Comments Off

A new Deloitte survey finds that business travelers want to travel green. Here’s the facts…

Nearly seven out of ten business travelers (69%) say they always turn off the lights and one out of three (31%) always adjuts the heat/air conditioner when leaving the room.
Roughly a third of travelers surveyed are keenly concerned about green travel. Some 34% “seek out hotels that are environmentally friendly,” just as 38% have researched green lodging facilities either online or by asking friends and relatives. Similarly, 28% say they would be willing to pay 10% more to stay in a green lodging facility.

Interestingly, many of …read more

1 Comment

A recent poll done by Japanese advertising agency Hakuhodo looking at the environmental habits of the residents of eight of the world’s richest cities found that Tokyo is the least eco friendly city.
Seems that four out of ten Tokyo residents had no intention of sacrificing their convenient lifestyle in order to help prevent global warming. They bought the least number of eco friendly products and were far behind other cities in using clean energy, biomass, solar, or wind energy.
Of the other cities polled – New York, Paris, London, Milan, Moscow, Toronto, and Frankfurt – it turns out that the Parisians …read more

6 Comments

Green-wash – verb: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. (TerraChoice)
Not all companies are completely honest in their ‘green’ status. Some seem quite happy to take the tag but not the actions required to be truly green. Instead, they sort of greenwash themselves.
But how do you know whether they are ‘greenwashing’ or not ?
TerraChoice, an environmental marketing company, has the answer. They have come up with six easy ways to distinguish green fact from fiction with their ‘Six Sins of Greenwashing’ guide.
                             
The six sins they …read more

Comments Off

This could easily be the greenest bakery not only in New York City but also the whole world.
Green inside and out, the Birdbath Bakery is the creation of Maury Rubin of City Bakery fame. Already known to bake with organic ingredients, Rubin decided to create a totally eco-friendly environment in which to sell baked goods.
As a result, the walls of Birdbath Bakery are made from wheat and sunflower seeds and the floor features reclaimed wood. The paint is milk-based and gets it’s coloring from beets. And the counter is made of bamboo. But it’s not just the building that’s gone …read more

1 Comment

Welcome to Traveling the Green Way, b5Media’s newest travel blog, and home to all things relating to green travel.
Let’s face it, traveling green is not easy. But Traveling the Green Way is here to help.
I’ll be tracking down the latest news, tips, suggestions, and ideas to help make you (and me) travel greener.
Hope you stick around for the journey.

Comments Off