Traveling "green"

What the heck does it mean to travel green anyway? We get this question a lot around here, and it usually surfaces alongside some of the following comments:



- Traveling green? (Blank stare) I can't ride a bike to Europe.
- Green travel? Is that like only going to places with rain-forests and pine cones?
- Are you guys with the Green Party? Do you work for that Al Gore guy?
- Are you guys those people that go camp out in trees chanting "Mother Earth" as loggers try to fell conifer trees?

So for the record to the above, no, no, no, and finally, NO. So what does green travel mean then? Well, it can mean a lot of things but Jessica and I believe that we ought to minimize the harm we as travelers do on the environment through flights, car and train trips, hotels rooms etc. We also believe that rather than just visiting (and often jeopardizing) the places we travel to, we should give back to the local communities we all love so much around the world.

One solution: We think carbon credits are a great way to minimize the impact of travel on the environment. Sure, they're not perfect, but it's better than nothing. A couple of things to make sure you look out for with carbon credits:
1. Make sure that credits are going towards projects that can in fact, make a difference (not just reforestation efforts).
2. Make sure those projects aren't all in one place should (heaven-forbid) a fire wipe out the area etc - similar to the investment strategy of not putting all your eggs in one basket.
3. Make sure the company's records have public audits to show where (and in what amount) their money is spent. If you'd like to see an example of a company doing a great job at this, please click here. To learn more about Pangaea's program, please click here.

And lastly, our vision of the most important piece of making travel sustainable: Give back! What better way to protect the cultures and environments we as travelers visit than to invest in their development, protect their lands and resources, and ensure the beauties of this world are around and thriving for future generations.