STAY GREEN WHEN YOU TRAVEL

Shut down the house.  Before you leave home, adjust your thermostat so it doesn’t run while you’re away.  Unplug appliances from TVs to toasters (some use 40 watts per hour even when they’re turned off but left plugged in) and stop your newspaper so that excess paper doesn’t just pile up.

Avoid the bathroom mini bar If you’re using the little bottles they leave for you, they’ll replenish them – constantly.  Pack and use your own and avoid the wasted packaging of the mini bottles.

Treat it like home  When you leave your room, shut off the lights, turn down the heat and air, turn off the TV and, if the sun’s going to be hot, close the drapes. 

Do not disturb There’s no need for the housekeeping staff to run the vacuum and change your sheets and towels every day. Use the do not disturb sign to keep the housecleaning staff out.

 Avoid layovers to conserve energy.  Takeoffs and landings burn more fuel than cruising (as much as 25 percent of the energy used on short trips) so choosing a direct flight is the most earth friendly.  For trips under 600 miles, consider a train.

Offset  Offset your travel to an organization like Climate Care.  A coast-to-coast flight will cost about $15 round-trip to offset and that money will be invested in clean energy or even clean forestry (to absorb CO2 emissions) programs. 

Embrace the bus, train or subway.  Cars release a pound of CO2 for every mile driven.  When you're getting around town try public transportation instead.  By avoiding just 10 miles in a car each week, you can eliminate about 1000 pounds of CO2 emissions over the course of a year.  (80 trees would absorb the same amount).