The Green Life

Family Vacations: The Good, the Bad, the Eco-Friendly

When it comes to family vacations, we all have vivid memories, be they fond, bizarre, or somewhat stressful. But how green were those trips? With marathon driving sessions, constant dining out, and nights in inefficient hotels, probably not very.

So here are some ideas for lower-impact travel, which can save money and stress along the way.

•    Try taking a train instead of a plane or car – on average, train trips produce just a fraction the carbon emissions of a plane flight. Bonus: your chance for lost luggage dramatically decreases.

•    If you take a car, pack light: Extra weight in the trunk decreases fuel efficiency. Also, that ride will feel a lot shorter when everyone has ample leg room.

Book Roundup Wednesday: Books on Bikes

Every Wednesday, we review a selection of new and upcoming books addressing a specific aspect of environmentalism. Today we're recommending books about pedal power.

Bicycle Diaries (by David Byrne, $26, Viking, Sept. 2009): David Byrne is a man of many interests. Famous for his role in the band Talking Heads, he's also worked in a variety of other art mediums, including a recent foray into bike rack art. In Bicycle Diaries, Byrne describes cities such as London, Buenos Aires, Manila, and Sydney from a bike-level view. Readers can expect to experience a unique image of the world as seen through the eyes of an avid cyclist and accomplished artist.

Cruisers (by Jonny Fuego and Michael Ames, $22, Gibbs Smith, 2009): This visually charged ode to bike culture is filled with delicious eye candy for cruiser devotees. The book follows the cruiser movement from its historical roots to the work of the modern masters. The bicycle craftsmanship displayed in Cruisers is impressive, and while the book's tips for customizing your own ride may not turn you into a bike expert overnight, you'll enjoy the attempt.

National Parks Offer Free Summer Weekends

If the recession is throwing a wrench in your plans to take restful vacation, The National Park Service is offering its own bailout: All 147 NPS sites that charge entry fees will waive them for three weekends this summer. Mark your calendars: On June 20 and 21, July 18 and 19, and August 15 and 16, you won't pay a dime to get into Yellowstone and other parks.

For a family of four visiting Yellowstone, this translates to a savings of $73, which will get you into the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, about an hour from Yellowstone's east gate.

-- Mario Aguilar

Daily Roundup: June 2, 2009

Green Tweets: Put Twitter to work on World Environment Day (June 5) by following @UNEPandYou. The United Nations Environment Programme will plant one tree for every follower. Examiner

Unhappy Meal: Officials in China's Datian Nature Reserve say that the park's endangered python population has been eating the endangered deer population, putting both species at risk. Scientific American

End of the Road: The Obama Administration told Congress that without new funds, the Federal Highway Trust Fund will go broke in August. Associated Press

Eco-Wars: A recent report predicts that climate change could lead to increased conflict in the Middle East. Reuters

Gas Guzzling Goodbye: GM has plans to sell the Hummer SUV brand to a Chinese company called Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery. BusinessWeek

--Della Watson

How Do You Say "Gone"?

Next time you travel somewhere exotic, don’t be surprised if you see fewer kinds of animals and hear fewer dialects. As it turns out, the loss of species and the loss of languages are intertwined. The reasons for this correlation aren’t entirely clear, but the fact that places rich with species tend to be linguistically diverse could shed some light. These are the same regions threatened by corporate interests -- think of rainforests clearcut for agriculture and livestock -- which wipe out not only ecosystems and their dependent species, but also native peoples’ oral histories of how best to interact with that land.

--Avital Binshtock

Ecotourism: Too Much of A Good Thing?

With all the attention being paid to living green, you may be wondering how you can enjoy a summer vacation while staying environmentally friendly. You may have considered an ecotourism vacation, which is defined as a nature-based tourist experience.

Ideally, ecotourism promotes natural ecosystems’ conservation and biodiversity while supporting local economies. The problem with ecotourism arises, however, when it becomes too successful, and when too many people flock to a destination, disturbing natural habitats and encouraging the destruction of  natural resources to build tourist amenities like hotels, restaurants, and roads.

Green Volunteering Week: Transportation

Volunteering your time and expertise for a worthy cause is a rewarding experience. This week we offer tips to help you give greener.

Tip #3: Volunteer to Put More Bikes on the Road

Carbon dioxide released from transportation accounts for about one-third of U.S. emissions, so any volunteer endeavor that puts fewer cars on the road can make a big difference in the fight against global warming. Volunteering your time or donating used bike parts to a community bicycle organization is a great way to make a difference. Even if your do-good gig doesn't involve two-wheeled transport, you can reduce your carbon footprint by carpooling with other volunteers or opting for public transportation.

Share your tips: How does your favorite volunteer organization address the issue of transportation?

Study Finds GPS Navigation Systems Make Drivers More Efficient

A just-released study commissioned by Navteq, a leading provider of digital map data, shows that drivers using Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation devices drove fewer miles (actually, kilometers in this European study) and spent less time driving.

Conflict of interest? Perhaps. But the study, based on more than 2,000 individual trips, 20,000 kilometers (about 12,500 miles) of driving, and almost 500 hours on the road, found that drivers with GPS devices experienced a 12 percent increase in fuel efficiency, a nearly 2,500-kilometer (1,550-mile) drop in distance traveled per driver per year, and a per-driver average of more than 400 Euros ($530) in annual savings on fuel.

The study evaluated drivers with and without navigation systems, taking traffic into account, in the Dusseldorf and Munich metropolitan areas in Germany. No participants in the study had previously used a GPS navigation device. The study also revealed a learning curve, with bigger reductions in driving time and fuel consumption once drivers had familiarized themselves with the GPS systems.

America's Most Walkable Cities

Leaving the car at home is good for your health and the environment, but some cities lend themselves to walking more than others. Whether you're moving to a new neighborhood or just curious about life outside your vehicle, check out how an area ranks on Walk Score's list of America's top-40 most walkable cities, which include San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.

If you don't see your small town on the list, type in your address to see a detailed map of the walking-distance amenities such as grocery stores, schools, and entertainment venues, and get the place's Walk Score. The scoring system factors in whether housing and businesses are mixed in the same area and whether streets are comfortable for pedestrians with bike lanes and countdown crosswalk timers.

--Jordana Fyne

Responsible Train-sportation

For some of us, the distant sound of a train whistle invites us to imagine American transport in the mid-1800s and the development of a railway system that carried people across the national landscape at unprecedented speeds.

Unfortunately, the piercing cry of that whistle also carries with it images of the dangerous working conditions and deep environmental scars that the first transcontinental railroad left along its tracks. And yet, the sound of that same whistle may very well announce a more sustainable future for American transport.