Summer Vacation Planning

With a high energy two-year-old in the family, and an empty bank account thanks to our numerous recent home improvement projects, Matt and I aren't too keen on flying anywhere in the near future, and our summer vacation plans so far include day trips to the river (about an hour away) and a five-day stay in Mendocino (about three hours away), where Matt and Carlos will lounge at the beach while I attend a class at the Mendocino Art Center.

So while this information may not directly affect my own summer plans, I thought it was really interesting and would be good to keep in mind for future years. Maybe it will influence some of your decisions as well...

From the No Impact Man blog (Making Summer Vacation Choices):

• One round-trip, long-haul flight causes as much contribution to climate change as—get this—an entire year of driving.

And some tips from the same blog on ways to make your summer vacation as minimally environmentally harmful as possible:

• Vacation closer to home.
• Take direct flights that don’t zigzag to your destination.
• Combine three weekend trips into one week-long trip to reduce travel and flights
• Take the train or bus instead
• One less round trip means 6000 lbs less greenhouse gas
• If you must fly, buy a carbon offset from Native Energy