A lot of people ask us why we call ourselves environmentally cautious travelers when traveling itself is not very friendly for our Earth. It is true that flying, renting cars, taking buses is all adding carbon dioxide to the environment. However, we try to minimize our impact with our food choices, actions and products we use.
Avoiding meat and dairy
Livestock and their byproducts account for 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the combined exhaust from all means of transportation. By not consuming meat and dairy products we are not supporting the exhaustion of these gases.
For more information on the effects of industrial animal farming on the environment we recommend reading “Comfortably Unaware”.
2 minute beach clean ups
Being sun and ocean lovers we always include beaches in our travel destinations. You can help local communities and the environment by just spending a couple of minutes of collecting garbage. For that we always carry biodegradable bags in our backpacks. The big advantage is also that the beaches look much better in our photos without garbage. This was our recent clean up at Rainbow Pools near Yosemite Valley.
Choosing environmentally friendly products
- Reuseable coffee mugs
- Water bottle with filtering system or purifying tablets
- Reusable straws
- Bamboo Toothbrushes
- Compression cubes to avoid using plastic bags
- Reusable shopping bags
- Organic Soaps and Shampoos
By sharing our thoughts
With blogs and social media networks it is possible to share information and news about actions you can take to have a positive impact on the environment. Also when we’re approached by people who are curious on why we don’t eat meat, or why we insist at restaurants to not give us a drink with a straw, we are happy to share our views with them.
By donating in causes we believe in
Whenever we have a little money to spare from our travel budget we like to support projects annd organizations that do something good for the Earth. It also makes for amazing Christmas or Birthday presents. Here are some of our favorite organizations and causes: