SpaceShare Green Travel -- carpool, community building
SpaceShare Green Travel builds ride- and room-share tools for festivals and conferences. Our sister effort Verdant Event builds complete websites for conferences with greening tools integrated.
Ask the event how they coordinate carpools or buses. The event should coordinate carpooling -- send the organizers to Spaceshare if they need help planning carpools, or look for rides on Craig's List. more »Pack light and fill every seat! Or better -- see if you can find friends and take a bus or train.
Does the festival provide free water refills? Ask! Bring what you need so you don't have to buy disposables on-site, but balance that against packing light to keep your vehicle's fuel efficiency higher. Simple living is doubly beneficial when you're traveling!
It's hard to be green at a festival that's far from home and doesn't compost or help you fill every seat. Search this SpaceShare's carpool-friendly green festival calendar or Ecopalooza's list of green events.
Shutting all the lights isn't enough, unplug all appliances at home before you leave. Older TVs, many appliance chargers and other devices keep running even when they're "off."
For business travel many people just fly. If you can find an alternative, it will make a huge environmental impact. Can you enjoy taking the train or driving by finding others going to the same conference? If a car is involved -- whether you drive, rent a car or take a taxi, consider carpooling and check your tire pressure. Hopefully the event will coordinate carpooling -- send the organizers to Spaceshare if they need help planning carpools, or look for rides on Craig's List.
Besides looking for a hotel that is already reasonably green, two simple steps can make your trip much greener:
Bring what you need so you don't have to buy disposables on-site, but balance that against packing light to keep your vehicle's fuel efficiency higher -- especially important when flying. Simple living is doubly beneficial when you're traveling!
Shutting all the lights isn't enough, unplug all appliances at home before you leave. Older TVs, many appliance chargers and other devices keep running even when they're "off."
Download conference materials if available online to reduce paper waste.
Look up organic and vegetarian restaurants in the area.
More and more couples are asking for gifts from green registries. If not, you might ask the soon-to-be-weds: do you want carbon offsets for your car, a native-plants garden, an energy efficiency overhaul of your lights and faucets? Escape mass consumerism and make your gift personal, bring what you know in a way that will be appreciated!
Flying is the worst form of transportation for the environment, so avoid it if you can. Consider a bus, Amtrak, or carpooling. Bus? »New bus lines have opened up between San Francisco and Southern California, and along the East Coast. Many are much nicer rides than Greyhound.
Ask the wedding party if other guests live in your area. If not, you can always look for people traveling your way: city to city carpool resources. more »Pack light and fill every seat! Or better -- see if you can find friends and take a bus or train.
Shutting all the lights isn't enough if you'll be gone for more than the day, unplug all appliances at home before you leave. Older TVs, many appliance chargers and other devices keep running even when they're "off."
Ask the planner if anyone is coming from your area. Can you carpool -- even just carpool to and from the airport? For small events, let the planner know that carpooling can be coordinated on Evite or using a bulletin board, a shared Google spreadsheet, or by using a keyword on Craigslist (telling everyone to type "GG wedding" in their carpool post, and to search for that exact spelling.) For events with hundreds or thousands of attendees, send the organizers to Spaceshare if they need help planning carpools or another carpool planning organization. more »Pack light and fill every seat! Or better -- see if you can find friends and take a bus or train. Can you make a shared bus or train trip part of the celebration?
Besides looking for a hotel that is already reasonably green, two simple steps can make your trip much greener:
Shutting all the lights isn't enough, unplug all appliances at home before you leave. Older TVs, many appliance chargers and other devices keep running even when they're "off."
Ask the planner how they coordinate carpools. Do they know if anyone near you is attending? Or can they set up a website (or ask if you can do it for them): Evite, a Google online spreadsheet, Facebook, a bulletin board, or one of these carpool planning websites.
Potlucks are especially good for adding a touch of environmental education to the fun: try showing off a garden or buying organic, local ingredients from a farmers market.
Do you have a compost pile in your backyard and can take home the organic waste? Can you offer to take anyone home who tries to take public transit or carpool and gets stuck? Can you bring extra dishes so the host doesn't need to use disposables?