Posted by admin on June 5, 2009
Now granted the original article was geared towards Memorial Day Weekend, but the information applies all the time.
Memorial Day Weekend, Summer Travelers Can Cut Gasoline Costs in Tough Economy with Drive $marter Challenge Interactive Website, Money-Saving Tips, Resources
Washington, D.C., May 2009 – With the Memorial Day holiday weekend and heavier summer driving season approaching, and with gasoline prices nowhere near last summer’s record highs, thoughts turn to weekend and vacation road trips as a great escape from economic reality.
The Alliance to Save Energy’s interactive Drive $marter Challenge fuel efficiency website provides vacationers and everyday drivers with hundreds of dollars of money-saving gas tips, resources, and myth busters that respond to the call of frugal drivers: Why pay more for gasoline than you have to, particularly in this economy?
Whether you are headed to the big city or the great outdoors or staying closer to home, you can start saving money on gas even before you are on the road with a little advance planning, basic maintenance, and your driving and other choices:
Planning your vacation:
* Get a customized vacation map with low gas prices along the route. Getting lost while driving in unfamiliar areas could lead to an expensive waste of gas. Resources on the Drive $marter Challenge website (http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/money-saving-tips/fuel-efficient-resources.aspx) can help your family print a customized vacation map that highlights low-cost gas stations along your route. Choose the right vehicle. If your family has more than one vehicle, drive the car that gets better gas mileage if possible.
* Rise and shine! When possible, drive during off-peak hours to reduce gas costs and stress by avoiding stop-and-go or bumper-to-bumper traffic conditions.
* Investigate other travel options. Consider trains, buses, or public transportation to your vacation destination when possible.
* Explore new ways to get around at your destination. Find information on biking, public transportation routes, car sharing, walking, and renting hybrid or fuel-efficient vehicles on the Drive $marter Challenge websiteresources page at http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/money-saving-tips/fuel-efficient-resources.aspx .
Before you leave: maintenance tips
* Inflate your tires. Keeping your tires properly inflated improves gas mileage by around 3%.
* Select the right oil. Using the manufacturer’s recommended grade of motor oil improves gas mileage by 1 to 2%. Motor oil that says “Energy Conserving” on the API performance symbol contains friction-reducing additives. Change your oil as recommended to extend the life of your vehicle.
* Tune up. Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4%.
On the road: driving tips
* Decrease your speed. Gas mileage usually decreases rapidly above 60 mph. Each five miles per hour over 60 mph is like paying an additional 20 cents or more per gallon for gas.
* Drive sensibly. Speeding, rapid acceleration (jackrabbit starts), and rapid braking can lower gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds.
* Use cruise control and overdrive gear. Cruise control cuts fuel consumption by maintaining a steady speed during highway driving. Overdrive gear, when appropriate, reduces engine speed, saves gas, and reduces engine wear.
* It’s a “drag.” Avoid carrying items on your vehicle’s roof. A loaded roof rack or carrier increases weight and aerodynamic drag, which can cut mileage by 5%. Place items inside the trunk when possible to improve fuel economy.
* Turn down the air. Operating the air conditioner on “Max” can reduce mpg by 5-25% compared to not using it.
* Avoid idling, which gets 0 mpg. Cars with larger engines typically waste even more gas while idling than cars with smaller engines.
* Navigate with a GPS system. GPS systems can help you find your way and, increasingly, GPS programs can search for low-priced gas at nearby stations.
* Fill up before returning rental. Rental car companies charge higher gas prices if you don’t fill up the tank before returning the vehicle. Keep your gas receipts in case the company requires receipts to remove a gas surcharge.
The Drive $marter Challenge website, www.drivesmarterchallenge.org, has been updated with 2009 vehicle models and current campaign partners. The website calculator and all tips will be further updated May 19 with new projected gas prices for the year.
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The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, the economy, and national security.
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Drive $marter Challenge website – http://drivesmarterchallenge.org/. It’s the only website where drivers can find out up front on many hundreds of dollars they can save on gasoline with their specific vehicle by taking six driving and maintenance actions.
Posted by admin on June 3, 2009
Voluntourism - it’s been a hot item in articles, tweets and blogs lately. We define it as travel experiences that provide the opportunity to contribute to local community projects and development initiatives with some time off to visit the highlights of that particular destination or country.
This kind of travel creates opportunities for greater interaction with local communities, so it’s essential that we consider the impacts these trips can have to ensure there are benefits for local people and their environments.
Our friends in the media need to be as concerned as we are because the health and welfare of communities and cultures can be at risk when purposes and good intentions go awry.
Planeterra Foundation (http://www.planeterra.org/), the global non-profit dedicated to sustainable community development through travel, challenges you to look closely at the following questions and insofar as possible, share our concerns – which we are sure you will be yours as well – with your audiences.
• When is my need to “do good” potentially a selfish act on my part?
• Am I helping or hindering by taking time and resources away from the community and project managers just so I have a “feel good” project to work on?
• Are valuable time, effort and resources being wasted and misappropriated just to prepare for and accommodate a voluntourist?
• Can I really make a contribution in a lasting, significant way in the short time I’m there?
• What is the optimum duration for a meaningful voluntourism stay?
• Is the project just a “front” for fundraising or attempt to generate exposure, creating contrived situations for my benefit and not really the benefit of the community?
Here’s how we at Planeterra think the growing voluntourism industry needs to address these concerns:
• Programs must be set up to engage the voluntourist in task-specific scenarios so people can see the tangible results of their contributions.
• Voluntourism programs are ideally no shorter than five days and optimally 14 days.
• It’s vital to have a designated tour leader or guide who helps facilitate the volunteer experience so that project staff aren’t taken away from running their regular programs.
• Designated projects are ongoing and sustainable; they are not simply there just to ‘entertain’ travelers. This being said, many of the activities would be taking place without travelers present, but it is because of the voluntourists that these tasks are able to be completed.
• It’s important for voluntourists to have realistic expectations; while they won’t change the world by volunteering for a few days, they will open themselves up to learn more about a local community that can be shared with others when returning home.
• There’s an overall need in the voluntourism travel sector to shift the focus toward sustainability. This enables projects to be taken over eventually by a community, thus minimizing dependence on outside help.
• Everyone needs to recognize that the end game is total community control and quite possibly the disappearance and solution of issues and conditions that brought the original need for the project – and voluntourists — in the first place.
Here at Planeterra, where there is a need, we recognize it, and we act quickly to meet it. Whatever the voluntour project Planeterra has the insight, agility and technical and financial wherewithal to successfully see it through. Our goal is to empower local people and communities to strengthen their well being while promoting long-term, environmentally responsible growth.
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Posted by admin on
The Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies has been unveiled as North America’s newest destination for domestic and international travelers who seek an authentic experience with scenic beauty, wildlife and recreation that delivers a connection with the environment, American Indian cultures and North American history. As well, this destination supports the principles of green travel.
The Top 10 Scenic Drives in the Northern Rockies spans five U.S. states (i.e., Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon) and two Canadian provinces (i.e., British Columbia and Alberta) and is composed of four All-American Roads; 10 National Parks and Recreation Areas; and four connecting National Historic Trails. Please visit our Web site at www.drivethetop10.com to view the online video from the Drives, download photography.
On a side note, I’ve been to almost all of the Top 10 as a child and those memories still are with me 30+ yrs later (wow I’m old! lol ok so I’m 41, but those memories from my childhood still linger today)
Posted by admin on June 2, 2009
Gathering of the Vibes ~~ festival is in its 14th year and is being held at Seaside Park in Bridgeport, CT July 23-26, 2009.
You can see some of their activism here. They’re involved in a lot of excellent causes.
The festival fits the bill as a green destination seeing that they’ve made tremendous efforts to eliminate waste throughout the past few years, incorporating a solar stage, encouraging carpooling with incentive, providing attendees with green guidance, along with a number of other efforts.
The heritage of the festival stems from the passing of Grateful Dead lead-man, Jerry Garcia, attracting a diverse and environmentally conscious crowd and very notable bands.
You can check out all their green vibes info here
If I wasn’t 1200 miles south of this event, I’d be there!
