Whether you drive a car, RV, motorcycle or bicycle, there may come a time when you need roadside assistance.  Why not support an auto club company that cares about the environment?   They even offer insurance, travel discounts and carbon offsets to help lessen your impact on the earth.  Memberships also make great gifts.

Better World offers home and auto insurance; discounts on rental vehicles (including hybrids and biodiesels), hotels, eco-tours and bicycle tours.  They even donate 1% of all revenues to environmental cleanup projects and consumer advocacy programs.

Curious to learn how much greenhouse gas emissions your vehicle is spewing into the air?  Try their carbon offset calculator.  You can even purchase carbon offsets there too.  Better World says, “Carbon offsets help neutralize the greenhouse gas pollution that is associated with the burning of fossil fuels. When you drive in your car or fly in an airplane, harmful gases (including CO2) are released into the atmosphere. Our Foundation carefully screens and selects offset projects that neutralize these emissions that are directly contributing to global warming pollution.”

Stay up-to-date on environmental happenings, like California’s plan to encourage electric car usage, with BWNews.  Better World also offers an e-Newsletter, “Kicking Asphalt” where you’ll find consumer advice, environmental information, and member discounts and savings.

Recently, a chic hotel in downtown Philadelphia opened which is indicative of a positive, “greening” trend in the industry and the world today.  The former Architects Building in Rittenhouse Square was transformed into the luxurious Hotel Palomar.  It was constructed to the United States Green Building Council’s high performance LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards.

The hotel was built and furnished with eco-friendly materials and utilizes water-conserving fixtures and energy-efficient lighting.  Environmentally-conscious policies and practices are also in place for daily operations.  Even the hotel’s restaurant is LEED-registered and offers organic and sustainable fare.  Another interesting feature is the discounted parking prices for those guests who drive hybrid vehicles.

Many hotels around the globe have integrated environmentalism into their design and daily operations.  To find one for your next destination, visit EnvironmentallyFriendlyHotels.com.

The 60,000 sq ft hangar was constructed at a price comparable to other aircraft hangars, but this one will save money on operating costs by reducing its energy consumption and its emissions.

Sustainable features include:

• solar photovoltaic panels which generate 110 percent of the building’s power needs
• electric maintenance vehicles
• allowance for planes in the bay for maintenance to shut off their engines and run on electricity
• native landscaping

Source:  Sustainable Industries

photo courtesy of Shangri-La Construction

The kit features a self-powered wireless hotel key card switch that transmits a signal to a controller that turns on the lights and HVAC system when a guest enters the hotel room. Then, when the guest leaves the room and removes the key card from its dock, the power-consuming amenities are turned down. This will reduce energy consumption by up to 40%!

BusinessWire has the full scoop here.

He goes on to say, “The hotel uses 41% less energy and 33% less water (than a comparable, conventionally-built hotel) without one iota of compromise in comfort or luxury and with minimal additional construction costs.” The extra $7000 spent upfront on water conservation features has already saved two million gallons of water and $13,000 in water bills. One hundred rooftop solar panels supply most of the hotel’s hot water.

They also included the following other sustainable elements:

• Recycled 87% of the construction debris (1,535 tons)
• Sourced over 40% of the building materials locally
• Used over 20% recycled content
• Restored 700 feet of an adjacent stream
• Installed the first regenerative drive elevators in North America, generating electricity on the descent for the ascent
• Provided natural lighting (day-lighting) to 97% of the occupied space
• Used elaborate energy recovery systems to provide large amounts of fresh outside air to all guests
• Sourced 90% of the furniture locally
• Commissioned local artists and craftspeople for original art in every guestroom, a cantilevered reception desk, spiral staircases in the lobby, furniture and accessories
• Low-emitting volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, adhesives, carpets, etc reduces indoor air contamination
• Plus more than 60 other sustainable practices

Visit the Proximity Hotel’s website for more information.

Of course ‘eco-friendly travel’ seems like an oxymoron, but traveling is a fact of life, and we can’t always walk or ride our bicycles to our destinations. So, why not try to minimize the impact our travels have on the planet? Take a peek at my ideas for greener travels here and also consider this regarding auto/travel clubs:

The Traveling Mamas website says it best, ‘Better World Club offers everything that AAA does, without any of your membership fees going to the highway lobby (as with AAA). The Better World Club offers discounts on hybrid rental cars, discounts on eco-travel, and helps fight global warming by offering its members free carbon offsets (when purchasing airline tickets through BWT).’

‘Better World Club donates 1% of its revenue to environmental cleanup, and even offers roadside assistance for bicycles! Triple-A, on the other hand, uses some if its revenue to lobby against mass transit, bike paths, and the Clean Air Act. Now, this makes sense from a business standpoint – the more people in cars, the more people using AAA, right? But since Better World Club offers the same good stuff as AAA, without your money going towards things that actually increase your carbon footprint, BWC is the eco-friendly alternative.’

Here are some ways to make your travels a little greener:

• be a tourist in your home town to limit transportation impacts. Perhaps take a walk, bike, or mass transportation to local and regional destinations.
• pack light (less luggage means less fuel used to transport it).
• When driving, opt for the most fuel-efficient vehicle available.
• conserve electricity and water wherever you go.
• eat locally-grown food when it’s available.
• bring your re-usable water bottle on treks where the water is safe to drink.
• recycle where the option is present.
• carry a re-usable bag for souvenirs.
• Stay at ‘Green Hotels‘ that do their part to reduce their environmental impact through daily operations and practices.
• Purchase carbon offsets to neutralize your transportation impacts — there are organizations that fund projects that utilize clean, renewable energy or that plant trees in your honor (Here’s a comparison among various carbon offsetting programs).

Photo by Seamus Murray

This unique parking garage obtains ‘part of its electricity from solar panels on the rooftop shade structure’. While it comes equipped with outlets for electric cars and free bike-storage lockers, it also incorporates other green features designed to make automobile use a little greener. A system is in place to ‘filter oil and other automobile effluvia out of storm-water runoff’.

Let’s see what other pleasant places are on the list…

• The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco features the most unusual green roof I’ve ever seen. See my earlier post about its sustainable attributes.
• The baseball Stadium for the Washington Nationals in D.C. is the first LEED-certified professional sports facility.
• It’s a wonderfall time of year to enjoy the autumn foliage in Pocantico Hills, NY where you’ll find a delicious, natural (and expensive) meal at Blue Hill at Stone Barns Restaurant and the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture.
• The World Birding Center in Mission, Texas shows off its curved roof which is part of its rainwater catchment system.

TravelandLeisure.com features a slideshow of all its top picks.

Before starting out, Just enter a few key points, like the price of fuel, your car’s drag co-efficient, and weather conditions, and the greenMeter will start its computations. Your car’s manual or the maker’s website is a good place to find some of the necessary data.

The greenMeter’s $5.99 price tag isn’t bad for a device that will pay for itself in no time with information designed to help anyone’s driving style become more eco-conscious. It’s available from the iTunes App Store.

Source: LA Times

photo courtesy of hunter.pairsite.com