STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EARTH SCIENCES - EARTH SYSTEMS PROGRAM
- Overview
- Get Started
- Tire Pressure
- Oil & Air Filters
- Speeding
- Accelerating & Braking
- Tracking Gas Mileage
- Idling
- Air Conditioning
- Get Directions
- Step It Up
- Carpooling
- Fuel-efficient Car
- Car Sharing
- Local Shopping
- Off-peak Travel
- Asking Directions
- Local Vacations
- Go For Green
- Biking, Walking, Transit
- Telecommuting
- Carbon Offsets
- Home/Job Location
Vacation Locally or Regionally
- Simplicity:
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- Carbon Impact:
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- Money Savings:
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- Health Helper:
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Overview
Plane flights result in high greenhouse gas emissions, especially when the plane is flying thousands of miles halfway around the world. If you’re looking for ways to lighten your impact, a fun and family-oriented way to do it is through local or regional vacations. Believe it or not, there are often undiscovered gems all around us. State parks, historic sites, cozy bed and breakfasts or hostels, the list goes on and on. Staying close to home for you holiday can be a great way to explore your own territory, have fun with your loved ones, and reduce the stress of long-distance travel.
Tips & Tricks
Contact your local tourist information resource. If your town has a tourist information office or chamber of commerce, pay them a visit and ask for tips about local sites to see. Don’t be embarrassed to learn new thing about somewhere you may have lived all your life. None of us can know all there is to know. Besides, it can be fun to be a tourist in your own area.
Go to the bookstore and browse the guidebooks for your region. This is a great way to get ideas. You don’t even have to buy the book!
Web & Print Resources
Camping and hiking opportunities:
www.nps.gov
www.reserveamerica.com
gorp.away.com
Hostels:
www.hiayh.org
Historic sites:
tps.cr.nps.gov
www.preservationdirectory.com
www.nps.gov
Museums:
www.museumsusa.org
Personal Story
Share your story with the Sustainable Choices Team! If you have a comment or a success story about your sustainable strategies that you would like to share, please send a note to sustainablechoices@stanford.edu.
Fun Facts
The U.S. National Park Service maintains a network of nearly 400 natural, cultural and recreational sites across the nation.
There are over 2,000 National Historic Landmarks in the U.S.