Go green: Eco-friendly vacations

Some rental-car companies have added hydrid cars like the Toyota Prius to their fleets.

BY JOHN LEE, Special to The Miami Herald

You're gnawing on a rubbery, over-overpriced sandwich at 31,000-feet -- marveling that your quick-hop flight from London to Paris cost only a few dollars more than lunch -- when a wave of regret hits you like a burst of unexpected turbulence.

It's not that your meal tastes like an old beach sandal, or that the legroom on this cattle-class plane seems designed for a height-challenged 5-year-old. What really raises your hackles is the creeping suspicion that your trip is an environmental disaster.

Welcome to the world of green guilt and the uncomfortable suggestion that, with global warming on the agenda like never before, the golden age of cheap vacations has a price far beyond the bargain-basement deal you picked-up on Travelocity.

It's not necessarily true -- at least yet. Carbon emissions from passenger jets are less than five percent of all man-made carbon dioxide totals, though they are rising and could more than quadruple in the next two decades. But that's not the only enviro-problem with travel.

That comfy SUV you often hire on your holidays is the height of gas-guzzling irresponsibility. Using all the towels in your hotel room for an after-bath cocoon is a slap in the face to Mother Earth. And ordering exquisite restaurant meals sourced from half a world away can provoke severe scowls from passing greenies munching on locally-grown mung beans. (Or maybe they're just jealous.)

Fortunately, for those of us who want to add a level of environmental responsibility to our vacations without sucking out all the fun, there are more choices available than ever before. But while traveling by rickety tandem or washing a single pair of hemp socks on the road might suit some, it's clear that not all green travel choices are created equal.

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