Today’s guest post is by Kimberly and Elizabeth, the travel gurus from Go Green Travel Green.

Green travel doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. Whether you’re flying cross-country for a long weekend or moving abroad for a three months, there are lots of little things you can do to lessen your environmental impact. Here are six of our favorites.

1. Pack Light
Why it’s green: The more gear you pack, the more fuel is required to transport it.
Why we like it: The more stuff you have, the more tied down you are. By packing light you’re freer to just get up and go. Plus, lugging a 50 pound pack from continent to continent is never fun.

2. Get a Reusable Water Bottle
Why it’s green: We all know how much waste bottled water creates.
Why we like it: It’s convenient to just fill up and go. And bringing your own bottle saves a lot of cash in the long run, since the cost of bottle water adds up.

3. Visit Local Markets
Why it’s green: You’re supporting local business and the local economy. Plus, transporting the goods consumes less fuel because they don’t have to travel as far.
Why we like it: You get to chat with the vendors who create the goods or grow the food. And who doesn’t love perusing the stalls of crafts, fruits, meats, and cheeses?

4. Walk or Take Public Transportation
Why it’s green: When you can’t bring your bike with you, walking or hopping on a bus is more fuel-efficient than driving.
Why we like it: Provided it’s safe, wandering through unknown streets never knowing what’s around the corner brings out the explorer in all of us. When you’re on a train or bus, you meet interesting people and discover places off the beaten path.

5. Stay in Hostels
Why it’s green: Group accommodations burn through fewer resources than individuals ones because they use less electricity per person. Sharing your room means sharing lights, heat, and air conditioning.
Why we like it: You meet awesome people in hostels from all over the world. Who knows, maybe you can crash on your new Australian travel buddy’s couch in a few years when you make your way to Melbourne.

6. Volunteer
Why it’s green: You’re giving back to the place you’re visiting. You can work on an organic farm, do ecological research, or build sustainable homes.
Why we like it: Volunteering abroad is an excellent way to get to know locals and experience the culture first-hand. And we always strive to leave our destination in better shape than it was in when we got there.

Kimberly and Elizabeth are avid travelers committed to reducing her environmental impact without spending a fortune. The currently live in Washington, D.C. and are co-editors of Go Green Travel Green and co-founders of Search Green Travel.

The is a guest post from the fantabulous Beej from Neuteronomy, who only eats meat on weekends.

Oh man.  Guest blogging for a blog that people actually read is daunting, but I shall persevere.

I’ve put lots of effort into greening/healthying my life over the past year or so.  One of the things this process has forced me to do is evaluate my limits, to figure out what am I just not willing or able to change.  Once I had done that, figuring out what I was willing to change was pretty easy. Read more…

The following is a guest post from the thoughtful and prolific Howling Hill.  She puts up amazing posts several times a day, and still had time to write this amazing intro to herbalism post.  I don’t know how she does it!
Allie, as you probably know, is on a blog vacation. She asked me to write a guest post for her which I happily agreed to. She suggested I write about the herbalist classes I’ve been taking at D Acres (blog) in Dorchester, New Hampshire. D Acres, and educational homestead, offers all kinds of classes including woodworking, composting, biodiesal, canning, bread making, amongst all kinds of others. It is also a hostel so if you’re planning on being in the New Hampshire woods please consider staying at D Acres.

Lauren Buyofsky, owner of Wise River Herbals, lives at D Acres and taught the herbalist classes. She studied with Wendy Snow-Fogg of Misty Meadows in Lee, New Hampshire. Currently Ms. Buyofsky is studying with Rosemary Gladstar of Sage Mountain.

This is Rosemary’s last year teaching which will be a great loss to the herbal community when she retires.

Ms. Buyofsky taught four classes: Part I: Herbs for Wellness, Part II: Herbs for Family Health, Hands on Herbal Medicine Making, and Herbs for Kids. I attended the first three. The last class has not yet happened. I’ll go through the classes one by one to lay out the basics for you. First, however, I want to explain how and why I came to herbalism. Read more…

The following is a guest post from Mark, who’s an old college buddy, and one of my favorite bloggers.
My husband and I are in the process of buying our first home. As I write this, I’m looking at the giant check we need to complete the purchase and sale agreement this weekend. I think it’s the biggest check I’ve ever seen, but it’s only five percent of the purchase price, so even bigger checks will be in my immediate future. It’s an exciting time, but I can’t stop feeling a little guilty about the whole process. I need to convince myself that buying this house can be an environmentally sound decision. Read more…

The following is a guest post from the awesome and ever witty, Nancy Pearl Wannabe.  

When I agreed to write a guest post for the lovely Allie I had a vague notion that I would write all about my attempts at becoming more green. After all, nothing excites readers more than tales of forgoing those plastic bags in the produce department of the grocery store, right? And who doesn’t want to hear about the time I almost tripped down my front stairs while carrying out the recycling? Or what about a post detailing all the times I have to follow my boyfriend around the apartment turning off lights in his wake to save on electricity? Nagging is fun for everyone!

Fortunately for all of you, Allie has already got these topics covered, in addition to many more that I’m sure I have never even considered in my quest to become more eco-friendly. So instead I am going to go all out and talk about a subject on which I am pretty much a savant: organic lip balms.

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem; well, here goes. I have, at a rough count, eleventy billion lip balms. They are everywhere- my nightstand, my dresser, my bag, my office, the bathroom, my makeup case, shoved into the couch cushions in case I find myself watching a movie and my lips are suddenly parched. So who is better qualified to review them? Exactly. So here we go. Read more…

Mickey here, filling in for our intrepid, vacationing proponent of everything green, Allie. Now that it’s getting on towards the end of summer, I’ve been thinking more and more about our air conditioner and how it’s been doing out there on the other side of our bedroom wall. I know it’s not getting lonely because it’s got our neighbors’ ACs lined up right next to it, grinding and wheezing away day and night. No, the reason I’m concerned is that it may be feeling a little bored and under appreciated. I’m sure it would like nothing more than to fire up and spin the cobwebs out a bit, but that’s not happening. I’m done with it. Read more…

Dianne from Dianne’s Dishes, was kind enough to send me a recipe for today’s post.  When I make cucumber salad, it’s cucumbers, lemon juice, and some cracked pepper if I’m feeling fancy.  When Dianne makes cucumber salad, it’s a five star meal.  She’s amazing.  Check it out! Read more…