Mar 27, 2009 4:30 pm US/Eastern
Green Scene: Travel And Get There Greener
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Get away without giving up on being green. If you want to
both make a travel plan and reduce your carbon footprint, there's a tool that
can help.
Martha Riordan is planning a trip with her family that
will put her on the road for a solid ten hours each way.
"Because there's four of us, it was probably cheaper
and less expensive to be able to drive and more practical for us," said
Riordan.
It's expensive to her pocket book and to the environment.
"The amount of pollution emitted from vacation travel
is not trivial," said Jim Kliesch of the Union of Concerned
Scientists.
The organization has put
together a first-ever consumer guide to travel options.
"It gives consumers information about the lowest
carbon ways to get there," said Kliesch.
The guide compares travel by plane, train, bus and car,
calculating the amount of carbon dioxide generated per trip for distances
ranging from 100 miles to 3000 miles. The findings may surprise you.
"A poorly planed cross country flight for example,
for a family of four can amount to the same amount of pollution as that family
makes traveling to and from work for an entire year," said Kliesch.
A greener choice for a family of four is carpooling.
The greenest choice for them is a train or a
bus.
"Buses make a great low-carbon trip, regardless of
how far you're traveling or how many people you're traveling with," said
Kliesch.
If you're traveling solo or with a partner, the greenest
way to travel is by plane.
To use even
less carbon on that plane trip -- choose a direct flight.
Another point the researchers make --
travel light. Every pound of extra luggage
adds weight.
The less weight, the less
fuel, and the more fuel you can save, the better your carbon footprint and the
environment.
RELATED LINKS:
Find out how to "get there greener" at the Union
of Concerned Scientists website.
Click Here
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Jessica Simpson: Then & Now
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments