Staying Green on a Road Trip
There is no better time for a road trip than right after the winter season comes to a close. It doesn’t matter if you’re a university student looking to blow off some steam after a long year of studying or you’re a professional that just needs a change of scenery. Getting out of your normal corner of the world is both relaxing and exhilarating at the same time.
Heading out on the road for a few days does not come without potential negatives however. Many people who are not concerned about their respective carbon footprint often leave a trail of destruction in their wake. You do not have to be one of those people.
Here are three very manageable ways to have a great time on your road trip while being environmentally responsible at the same time.
1. Choose Your Transportation Wisely
It should not need to be said, but unfortunately a lot of road trippers still do most of their damage by not taking their chosen transportation’s environmental effect into consideration opting for the most roomy option available. While stretching out in a big SUV might sound nice, it’s not very green.
Instead, you really should go above and beyond to do everything in your power to avoid a gas guzzler as this is going to be the biggest impact environmentally. Relying on public transportation like buses and trains and using rideshare services to fill in the blanks will be the most Earth friendly. But, that isn’t always an option so at the very least try to pile in to a car that’s extremely fuel efficient and take direct routes instead of mileage heavy roundabout ways.
2. Pack Ethical Snacks
A big part of road trips is the time between destinations. And, depending on how far you are traveling, that can add up to a whole heck of a lot of time. One thing almost all of us do to fill the time between stops is snacking.
Your road trip snacking can happen one of two ways. You can raid the shelves whenever you are at a rest top and load up on a bunch of junk food. Or, you can plan ahead of time and pack your own snacks.
If you opt for the second method you are going to be able to be a lot pickier on your snack selections. That means you can choose ethically produced healthy snacks instead of convenience store junk. Like with planning your transportation, putting in a little effort planning your snacks will go a long way.
3. Embrace the Outdoors
You spend your normal days inside four walls and under a roof. You sleep in a bed and view the outdoors from behind windows. A road trip is the perfect time to change that up.
As you plan where you will go and where you will stay, make your trip more special by choosing campsites over motels. Instead of supporting commercial construction and facilities that surely use abrasive chemicals for cleaning supplies, you support parks or small businesses that go out of their way to keep land undeveloped.
Aside from being a more ethical and green approach, chances are it will make your road trip more enjoyable too.
In Summary
Road trips do not need to consist of jumping into a gas guzzler leaving nothing but a pile of snack pack cheese curl bag trash and a puff of black smoke from your exhaust behind. With some careful planning you can have a very fun trip while at the same time doing as little damage to the planet as possible.
And, you might be surprised but your trip will most likely be cheaper if you follow the suggestions above than if you choose to go about your trip the regular way.
