By Elizabeth • June 25, 2009

Earlier this week, I published the Find Cheap Airline Tickets Cheat Sheet. As what usually happens when we mention anything related to airplanes, we get some criticism.

“Aren’t you green?” “Don’t you care about the environment?” “Flying is terrible.”

Yes, we agree that planes are the worst mode of transportation when it comes to their environmental impact. In fact we’ve written a lot about this including about how Airplane Air is Toxic, Principles for Choosing Green Transportation, and a Guide to Carbon Offsets.

So, this begs the question, are there green flights?

 photo credit: Lara604 

Sadly, there aren’t. At least not right now. Perhaps in the future there will be green flights. It would be great to be able to fly all over the world without having a major impact on the environment. But, right now, there’s no such thing as a green flight.

So the best thing to do to make your flight more eco friendly is to:

Take a Non Stop Flight: When you take a non stop flight you’re using less fuel and thus there are fewer carbon offsets - this all leads to greener flights. (Check out our posts about the best search engines for non stop flights and our post about how non stop flights have up to 50% less carbon offsets)

Use Electronic Tickets: When you use a completely electronic ticket — eg on your PDA/Smart phone, you’re getting rid of all paper waste. Here’s an interesting article from the LA times about electronic tickets.

Search for Tickets Using Search Green Travel: With Search Green Travel you use Kayak to search, but we donate 50% of profits to environmental organizations.

Bring a Water Bottle: Don’t buy bottled water before boarding the plane. To have green flights we must stop drinking bottled water. If your looking for a new water bottle check out our smackdown of stainless steel water bottles to help you choose the best one.

What other tips do you have for green flights?

We were invited by the Rainforest Alliance on a trip to the south of Mexico to learn about the sustainable lodging program they are developing on the Yucatan Peninsula.
As you may already know, Rainforest Alliance’s vision is to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. GreenSpot.travel has been involved with Rainforest Alliance since 2007, and has found the alliance a powerful one, which allows us to be able to make a contribution to “change” in the tourism niche.

Day 1
When I decided to sign up for the FAM (familiarization trip) in Mexico, I hesitated a bit to accept, because of the fear to get the H1N1 flu.
I finally decided to come and I’m glad I did, as I realized the negative impact that some news could have on any region, when sometimes the reality of the issue is another one. 
We arrived in Cancun where the group was waiting for us. We were introduced to Barbara Derks, General Manager at Ixcanan Travel, Whitney Cooper, Center for Responsible Travel, Annett Pompner, Tourismus Schiegg, and Mariana and Carlos, destinostv.com.  That was our group!
We headed to Holbox Island, where the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico converge, where the whale shark comes to eat (July-August), where tons of pink flamingos arrive, and where we would see the turquoise waters of the Caribbean and white-sand beaches. The drive from Cancun to Chiquila was approximately 2 hours, and along the drive we started to break the ice in the group and it seemed like it was the perfect one to be in.

Once at Chiquila, the boat was waiting for us to take us to the beautiful Holbox Island, a 25 minute ride. I was so impressed by the color of the water that I felt like jumping in it at once and forget my fear of the ocean…We arrived at Villas Paraiso del Mar, our home for the first night in the Yucatan Peninsula. As its name says it, a boutique paradise in the island, 28 Jr. Suites and 6 Master Suites where families, couples, groups of friends are welcome.

I went to bed satisfied of being in the Yucatan Peninsula, exploring a new destination that is trying to operate under sustainable practices with the help of Rainforest Alliance and now GreenSpot.

I’m normally asked by my clients, if I know about any Natural Mosquito Repellent. I have to say that I haven’t found any effective one! I decided that I needed to get a bit more educated about the way mosquitoes operate to explain better what could be done, to protect ourselves from these small malevolent animals. I found this nice article on About.com, where Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. explains it here.
 
Please share with us your experiences about mosquito repellents, organic repellants, and anything related to the subject, we would love to learn from you.

A number of months ago, we welcomed Stephen Brooks to Nature Blog. Stephen is a very high energy guy, who is on a mission in Costa Rica. He is an environmental warrior, a proponent of eating healthy foods, and an advocate for sustainable living. Presently, he is very involved in launching the Machuca community, an eco-village project in San Mateo de Orotina, located in the north Pacific region of the country. This serves as the back drop for Stephen’s current contribution. He has a great perspective on where we are at and where we need to be going and I encourage you to read on.

“In 1995, while on vacation in Costa Rica, I witnessed a playground full of indigenous children getting sprayed by a crop duster while playing Soccer. I learned how in order to grow cheaper and cheaper bananas entire ecosystems and countless lives are being destroyed, and this realization changed my life forever and led to a series of business mostly focused in Costa Rica.  I couldn’t believe my eyes. How could a society that has achieved so much be so destructive? We can zip around the world on jets and video chat through our cell phones and yet most of the food we eat is grown with harmful chemicals, while the last remaining sustainable farmers are less and less able to stay in business. So those who should be teaching the whole world how to become sustainable are themselves being lost to unsustainable global trends. We have to turn this around. We can’t think of anything more important to do and so that is what we are devoting our lives to. Whether its through the development of sustainable communities (Kopali Communities) or through the marketing of products grown and produced by sustainable farmers (Kopali Organics).

 It is always hard to imagine just how much work it takes to go from a dream to a real project that actually works. But after we experienced what it was like to live in harmony on a sustainable farm, we realized there are few things more important than working to make this way of life possible for others. Also, there is a race against time. Every day thousands of acres of irreplaceable rainforest and other ecosystems are being destroyed forever, countless family farmers are being driven off of their lands, and invaluable knowledge of how to live sustainably is being lost forever. All the while all kinds of real estate developments and planned communities are being developed in countries all over the world, sometimes even claiming to be “eco-friendly”. Creating successful and viable alternatives, is work we are called to do, even when the going gets tough. What else are we going to do?

Many people have a strong desire and calling to live in a sustainable farm based community. Many people have even been dreaming and planning this for a long time. But finding and securing land with good weather, water, fertile soil and where it is legal to live and farm are obstacles that very few have overcome. Also setting up the basic physical infrastructure to start living on the land is much more difficult than most people can imagine. So for too many their dreams remain just that, dreams. With Kopali, even though we are just getting started with the actual community of people who will live on the land, what’s already in place is a farm that has eternal spring weather, countless varieties of tropical fruit trees dripping with fruit, a river that you can dive into and swim in crystal clear water, lots that each have a legal title, spectacular communal gardens, a greenhouse filled with hundreds of varieties of edible and beautiful plants, ponds stocked with tilapia and fresh water clams, and the list goes on

Working wherever you are doing whatever you can to live more sustainably is critical regardless of where you live. Costa Rica is a very important country because of its unparalleled biodiversity, eco friendly laws, absence of military, perfect weather, and a ‘good life’ loving culture. And foreign interests and investments are already affecting the country in not so good ways. So for us working in Costa Rica to create alternatives to the otherwise destructive development practices that are becoming more and more prevalent is critical. Kopali will be a community where people of many different nationalities, including of course the local Tico (Costa Rican) community will be able to practice and teach sustainable living at its best. But that does not mean that Costa Rica is the only place to practice and teach sustainable living. Wherever we are, we all have to learn how to live in harmony with our communities and with the planet we all share!

The first time we learned how much CO2 is released into the atmosphere when flying back and forth from Costa Rica, we started a project called the Sustainable Solutions Caravan that drove buses that we modified to run on recycled vegetable oil as fuel from California all the way down to Costa Rica. It was one of the most effective and fun projects we ever did. We had the opportunity to not only prove that we could travel the distance on renewable (free) fuel, but also, because of all the media attention we got, we had the honor to speak to millions of people about sustainable solutions. These days we are not running the bus tours, but we are very aware of the trade offs involved in traveling. All of our travel is pretty much devoted to promoting sustainable lifestyles, and also the products grown by the network of farmers around the world that we support through our organic and fair trade snack line, Kopali Organics. We do our best, we are looking into carbon offsetting as much as possible, and still we look forward to the day when we ourselves travel less.

We live in an interconnected and globalized world. This is not going to change, or at least its not going to change any time soon. We are huge fans of local living communities that support local businesses, local farmers, and lifestyles that promote smaller ecological footprints.  There is so much talk about eating “locally grown” food.  How local can it be?  Can the land we live on also provide the food that we eat.  Can a planned community be created that takes this into account and works this into the very design and make up of the land it sits on.  That is what we have done here.  I have yet to experience this anywhere in the world.  I have seen a family or a few families living on land where they are able to grow most of the food that they eat, but a whole community or village striving to do this together???  Kopali Communities is the first!”

A Guest Post By Shadia Garrison, The Mindful Tourist.

Ecotourism, sustainable tourism, green tourism, cultural tourism, responsible tourism, philanthropic tourism, voluntourism… Ack, what do all these terms mean and how can I ever live up to all of them?
How about this?  Just be a good person while traveling, think of others and the environment you are visiting, and treat it better than you’d treat your own home and neighbors. Be a mindful tourist: that is, be mindful of the environment, the local people and their culture, and the future of the site. You can probably figure it out yourself, but here are some ways I believe we all can travel in a mindful, socially conscious way:
 

1. Learn about and embrace the culture around you
Prepare yourself before you go to understand the local culture and where it comes from.  This doesn’t mean you have to accept the congealed blood sandwich offered to you by the tribe leader but it means you’ll be prepared and understand why this is an honor.  If things are done differently than in your home country, don’t sweat it.  Accept, don’t criticize. Share your own culture, too – in a meaningful and thoughtful way.
 

2. Contribute to the local economy
Stay at locally owned bed and breakfasts or other local lodging options (which also tend to be more eco-friendly than large resorts with heated pools); take tours with locals who can point out the local fishing hole or who will take you to their best friend’s run-down restaurant that serves the best fish tacos you’ve ever had.
 

3. Steer clear of eco-unfriendly activities such as swimming with dolphins, four-wheeling through the rainforest, or helicopter tours.  No explanation needed, right?
 

4. Become a temporary member of the community
Pretend you belong: walk the streets; talk with kids playing cricket (better yet, join in the game even though we all know you have no idea what you’re doing!); and duck into the neighborhood dive bar to have a cold one with the locals.
 

5. Leave the place in better shape than you found it.
Strive to have a light footprint, don’t “love it to death,” give constructive advice if asked so that experiences are more authentic and even better for future tourists.  Develop sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships with your guides or hosts.   In short, instead of leaving behind your trash, leave behind some of your good will.
Remember, we’re all in this together.  Not to get all “rainbows and kittens” on you but everyone you deal with in your travels is a human being and is doing the best he or she can.  Your vacation is a part of your life – as such, it won’t be perfect in every way.  Accept that fact and be kind to everyone you encounter, even the bus driver who scowls when you request more toilet paper or the hotel staff person who objects to your switching rooms.  If you do that, you’re well on your way to being a mindful and socially conscious traveler.
 

Shadia was born in Cairo, Egypt to parents who met as Peace Corps volunteers living in Tunisia, and has since journeyed all over the planet.  She believes that the best part about traveling is the opportunity to learn from and appreciate past and current cultures.  She founded and writes at The Mindful Tourist.