8 Ways to Green Your Winter Travel

by Trey Granger

This story is part of Earth911’s “Green Eight” series, where we showcase eight ways to green your life in various areas.

Regardless of economic conditions, travel during November and December increases, often up to 23 percent during the Christmas and New Year’s breaks. Whether you’re visiting friends and family by plane, train or automobile, here’s eight ways to travel green this holiday season:

1. Ride the Rails . . . and Bus Routes

Wondering what’s the greenest form of travel? Actually, traveling by bus or train consumes the least amount of carbon per passenger. In the winter, travel by other means is subject to road closures and weather delays. Plus, trains and buses will usually drop you downtown for easier access to the city you’re visiting.

2. Enjoy Paperless Travel

No matter how you decide to travel, there is potential for lots of paper use. You’ve got tickets and boarding passes, baggage claim receipts and even directions to your lodging. But in this technological age, is all this paper necessary?

• Wait to print boarding passes at the airport, where less paper is used (and refuse the “ticket jacket” if offered).
• Enter important addresses into a portable GPS unit to take on your travel, so you won’t need to print directions.
• Ask if travel receipts can be emailed to you instead of printed (except luggage, of course).

3. Prepare Your Car

If you’re one of the 91 percent of people who opt for the holiday road trip, pre-trip car maintenance can optimize your gas mileage. This includes checking your motor oil and tire pressure, as well as removing unnecessary baggage that will weigh down your car. A 15-minute car preparation can help prevent a two-hour car breakdown in cold weather and more money spent on gas.

4. Reduce Airplane Waste

Think about how much waste you go through on an average flight. There’s peanut and food wrappers, aluminum soda and beer cans, disposable headphones, newspapers and magazines and the aforementioned paper travel documents. Other than the headphones and wrappers, it can all be recycled, and chances are your airport has recycling bins.

Keep this in mind before the flight attendant comes around asking for your trash. You can also bring your own headphones and packed lunch, or tuck your newspaper into the seat in front of you for the next passenger to read.

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