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Last time we did a gay travel app article for men. This one’s strictly for the women. Usually, there’s nothing cozier than curling up with a book or magazine, but when you’re exploring the globe or checking out some national treasures, travel apps are a handy way to get your information fix. Plus, the more books or magazines you have, the greener a choice it is to download apps, instead of wasting paper.

Travel

The lesbian version of Gay Scout, check out Gurl Scout, a practical travel app that’s divided into different cities. Look up lesbian-friendly restaurants, bed-and-breakfasts, resorts, and more. Over 7,000 businesses in more than 1800 cities and towns are listed in this fantastic app. It also works with Google Maps. Want to travel and volunteer at the same time? Go to Sweet.com and click on the RSS feed to download the latest from this eco-friendly, all-lesbian travel company. Looking for some e-books? Although geared toward straight women The Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011 is great. If you’re looking for globetrotting fiction, check out Justine Saracen’s novels, all available in e-book format. Her Ibis Prophecy books follow a lesbian archeologist through the Egyptian desert. The first book in the series,The 100th Generation, was a finalist for the Golden Grown Literary Society’s Popular Choice Award. Either BellaBooks.com or BoldStrokesBooks.com has an impressive collection of more downloadable novels, perfect to read on vacation.

If you’re looking for a quiet, artsy, lesbian-friendly getaway, download travel guides for Asheville, North Carolina. (Travel Hint: Bookworms will love Malaprop’s Bookstore and Café, a lesbian-owned independent bookstore that is jam-packed with events from poetry readings to author panels.)

Culture

If you’re local to South Florida, download She Magazine, available here. Chock full of all kinds of South Florida info for LBT women, She is a great way to tell what’s up in South Florida. If you’re looking for national magazines that you can load onto your e-reader or smartphone, check out Curve or OutTraveler, the gay and lesbian travel magazine.

By Marissa Cohen

Photo By loungerie

We can learn a lot about green travel and nature from these two writers. We can learn how to love life a little more and launch into adventures with a sense of humor.

Thoreau and the Pond: Deliberate Life

Some, such as Henry David Thoreau, decided to live on Walden Pond for a period of two years, and then recounted his life in the woods in 1854’s Walden. My undergraduate English professor often joked that in the area of Massachusetts near Walden, one could buy tee shirts and buttons that said Thoreau Went Home On Weekends and while it’s true that Thoreau made his two-year home on land owned by his good friend Ralph Emerson, I don’t think that undercuts the beauty of what he managed to accomplish. Thoreau did something extraordinary and took himself out of society to get away from the hustle and bustle of 19th century Concord. (This fantastic blog post focuses on Thoreau as a master of perception-based travel – what we might today refer to as a ‘staycationer.’)
Thoreau’s major work had a “sit around and wait” feeling to it, but when he really gets going, his writing hits a nerve and stays there. As an undergraduate, I remember slogging through an excruciatingly boring section about watching beans grow, and then out of nowhere, Thoreau would transform before my eyes, becoming a magician of nature: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to dig deep and suck out all the marrow of life.
The twenty-year old that I was willingly forgave Thoreau his notes about beans and farming to get to sections like that, where his writing practically becomes a spiritual dare to dive in to nature.

Bryson and the Woods: Laugh At Yourself

Bill Bryson is another writer who made nature come alive for me in A Walk in The Woods, though I have no illusions about my own ability or desire to hike the Appalachian Trail. But Bryson’s tale of a middle-aged man who ropes his best friend into the hike of a lifetime is utterly hilarious. If Thoreau double-dog dared you to live in your own local woods and see what life really meant, Bryson’s books promise that there is some grand, hilarious adventure just up ahead.

Green Travel Matters

Green travel matters . It seems that every moment technology is growing by light-years. At some point, here’s my personal dare. Figure out what joy means for you, hit the woods, do some hiking. Building your own cabin on a friend’s land is purely optional, but I believe it matters that you try something new, be open to Bryson-style hilariousness, and like Thoreau, make your own journey into a spiritual dare; allow yourself to get lost in your own backyard and see where you end up.

By Marissa Cohen

Photo By Luke Wisley

I’ve got a lot of books in my house. Most readers that I know, myself included, have very, very mixed feelings about the changing face of the publishing industry. With the rise of Kindles and iPads, books seem to be getting pushed aside. Nothing can ever replace the feel of a worn, well-loved book in my hands.

Reading Green on the Road

I admit it – I love taking my e-reader with me on long trips. It’s a little bit less of a hassle to pack one slender e-reader as opposed to three different books. This reminds me of my transition to iPod from portable cd player. Before I finally broke down and got an iPod, not only did I lug a portable cd player on trips, but I carted a mini-folder of cds with me as well. That added at least four extra pounds to my carryon, and I really had to adore those cds to cart them with me cross-country.

I feel the same way about books, in terms of weight. If I now know that the extra weight of my suitcase or carryon can actually increase my carbon footprint (and make my luggage ten times heavier), then bringing five or six books on the plane with me is a lot less attractive.

Eco-Bookworms Need Help

However, the jury is still out about who really wins the green award, in the knock-down drag-out fight between real, actual, honest-to-God paper books and e-books.

It’s easy to build a case against books. They’re heavier, publishers aren’t always able to recycle them due to the glue in the binding, and, of course, the more books you have in your house, the more trees have been cut down.

While e-readers save trees, you’re using extra electricity. Plus, with the exception of Apple, researchers found that not many e-reader companies declare how green their readers are.

Strike a Balance

What’s greener? Books or e-readers? It depends on how much you read, really. The more you read, the greener of an option the e-reader is for you. The less you read, the more time it will take you to offset the carbon footprint of a Kindle, according to the Cleantech Group. On the other hand, if you read more than, say, twenty-two books a year, consider a Kindle or an e-reader to save all those trees. Remember, Kindles or iPads are especially handy when you’re on the road or in an airplane.
But, if you’re like me and can’t seem to imagine a happy life without real books, just become book conscious and reuse them, which is a fantastic green option. Always go for secondhand books over new ones, don’t overlook the public library, and check out great online sites to get rid of old books or trade old book for “new” old books.

By Marissa Cohen

Photo By Sutherland Shire Libraries

Being green and gay is all about being exactly who you are while giving back to nature. These two unique travel companies make sure you’ll have the time of your life while supporting eco-friendly travel.

For Women

Lesbian travel company Sweet  offers the best of lesbian travel combined with green principles.

• Where They Go: If cruising to Italy or France or rafting down the Colorado River suits your fancy, then Sweet is for you. But, if you also dream of vacation adventures where you can give back to the locals, then look no further than Sweet.
• Carbon Neutral Cruises and Travel: All cruises are carbon neutral. Don’t worry about footing your own carbon footprint. Sweet will do it for you. All of their travel – whether by air, land, or water – is offset. Sweet is an entirely carbon-free company, and they even contributed to a reforestation project in Louisiana.
• Giving Back: Most of Sweet’s vacations come with an option to help support local areas in a variety of ways, such as taking part in beach cleanups or planting trees. The “Sweeties” travel the world, bringing green goodness to all, and on one recent trip, actually sterilized feral cats. (Can’t you just hear your friends asking, “So, what’d you do on your vacation?”) On an upcoming cruise to the Bahamas, the Sweeties will donate goods and time to the Rainfurly Home for Children.

For Men

If you’re looking for all-male trips, check out Out Adventures.

• Carbon-Offsets Included: As of 2011, all trip prices include a carbon-offset charge. Plus, Out Adventures operates on the core green principle of “leave no trace.” In other words, Out Adventures makes sure to carry away any trash and leave the environment just as they found it.
• Small and Supportive: Travelers with Out Adventures can look forward to small group travels (with a maximum size of 12) that support local leaders, businesses, and culture. With 2012 trips from Nepal to China, Out Adventures brings you into the adventure.
• Three Styles For You: Out Adventure travelers have a choice of booking three styles of adventures: Active, Comfort, and Inspire. If you choose an Active adventure, have a blast kayaking, walking, or biking your way through your unique vacation. If you want to relax and hole up in a cozy little B-and-B, then Comfort is the style for you; however, if learning about the locals and yoga on the beach sound more exciting to you, go with an Inspire vacation.

By Marissa Cohen

Photo By muskva

A few weeks ago, we ran a post about kickstarting a new, green 2012. These basic, eco-friendly decisions were meant to brush the dust off our green attitudes and start the new year off on the right foot.

The three green 2012 kickoffs were walking anywhere, buying a reusable water bottle, and shopping with non-plastic bags. After only a few weeks, my green scorecard is more than lopsided.

The Event: Walking anywhere.

The Score: B-
The Explanation: While some members of my family have happily started walking more, we’ve mostly been walking to keep the pounds off and to bring more relaxation into our lives, rather than walking to anywhere specific. We’ve walked to close neighbors’ houses rather than taking the car. Since I work in walkable distance, I’ve started to walk to work at least once a week. Provided I’m able to leave the office during daylight hours, this works fine.

The Event: Cloth Shopping Bags

The Score: D
The Explanation: Remember the reusable bags. This should be easy, right?  However, it always seems that I’ve forgotten them at home – and so,  I easily contribute to the billion wasted plastic shopping bags a year. The best that can be said is that we’re able to get a lot of use out of them as garbage liners or puppy scoopers. Still, there’s a lot of room for improvement on this one, because I don’t want to become one of the shoppers responsible for the huge number of shopping bags in landfills. Once I travel again, I look forward to having a few empty bags with me for random purchases.

The Event: Buying a reusable water bottle.

The Score: A
The Explanation: I was able to find a BPA-free water bottle at a fairly inexpensive price (green on two counts!) and, even though it’s huge, I’m happy to take it with me everywhere. It holds 32 ounces of water, so one fill-up stops me from adding four, eight-ounce plastic water bottles to a landfill. But will I be able to keep it up? Absolutely. I just make sure that it’s always by the front door and ready to go before I leave the house. (I’ve taken this water bottle with me on a few trips recently and it’s held up quite nicely.)

How about you? Did you walk more places? Did the reusable bags make it with you into the store or did you (like me) forget them at home? Did you always remember the water bottle? How has your Green 2012 Kickoff held up?

By Marissa Cohen

Photo By Paul A Hernandez

Car sharing is a great, alternative option to owning a car, if you live in an area that can provide other means of getting to work. Car sharing is also a nice alternative to renting a car. Many major U.S. cities offer a car sharing program.

How It Works

In most cases, you can reserve the car via phone or internet and drive the car when you need it, picking it up and dropping it off in clearly marked areas. Some people who live in cities with public transport use this option, including those who don’t need to drive to get to work. The fees are low – it’s often free, with daily or hourly rates incorporating gas, insurance, or other fees. Yearly rates are also reasonable and far less than the cost of constantly gassing up your car, or making monthly car payments.

The Benefits, Green and Otherwise

Zipcar, the world’s largest car sharing program, has been around for ages and is available in America, Canada, and the U.K., with available Zipcars in Miami, Orlando, Gainesville, and Tallahassee. Some major car companies  also offer a car sharing option. If you can rely on non-car options to get to work, car sharing might be for you. You can car share  for weekend jaunts, and you won’t be saddled with the year-round car expenses. Car sharing is also self-serve, so there’s no need to worry about rental offices. If you’re a college student and can’t afford the many fees that come with a car, several universities have their own sharing program as well, including Florida International University and the University of Miami.
Plus, the green benefits are fantastic – one shared car takes about fifteen personal vehicles off the road, resulting in billions of gallons of gasoline and oil being saved. There are no year-round gas prices, maintenance or car insurance, because that’s all picked up by the car sharing company, or included in the daily or hourly rates.

The Downside

Some car sharing programs put limits on their mileage, so if you’re looking to car share for a road trip in which you’re driving more than, say, 200 miles a day, you may want to look into other options. These programs often charge per mile once you’re over the daily limit, where as with traditional rentals, a three-hour road trip may be expected. Also, carsharing programs don’t clean the cars in-between users, so if the previous driver was a slob, you’ll be recycling their trash. While many car sharing programs don’t allow pets or smokers, there’s no guarantee that the previous driver won’t have bent the rules, which might be annoying for allergic green travelers.

Even with those slight issues, car sharing is a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to car ownership and car rental.

By Marissa Cohen

Photo By Lightpattern Productions

Green travel can be divided up into three camps: the beginners, the intermediates, and the heavyweights. Where do you fit in – and how can you improve your green travel habits?

Eco-Friendly Products

Are You a Beginner?

Beginners recycle only sometimes while at home, if they can find the bin. Maybe you’ve forgotten to inflate your tires if you’re traveling by car, or you’ve forgotten to book a nonstop flight because it will use less C02 then a plane trip that will take several stops. A good way for the beginners to move up to the intermediate level? Look into carbon credits and never leave home without the water bottle.

Are You an Intermediate?

If you’re at the intermediate level of green travel, you use carbon credits to offset major plane trips and your road trip tires are always inflated. You always use stainless steel water bottles when on long trips. When traveling by plane, you remember to book a nonstop flight and also know the importance of only packing what you need. A good way for intermediates to move up to the heavyweight level? Continue to stay aware of ways to go green, no matter where you are. Make sure that you’re aware of national directories that can support all kinds of green travel.

Are You a Heavyweight?

Wow! Not only do you use carbon credits to offset trips, but you’re able to stay aware throughout your green vacation, perhaps thanks to organizations like Sustainable Travel International. Your knack for recycling doesn’t go on a holiday when you do. No, you’re able to find recycling bins within a ten-foot radius of your hotel. Renting a car? Not if you can find suitable public transport or a fantastic car-sharing program. If you’re on a camping trip, you follow the green camping golden rule: only remove what you brought with you. Most importantly? You’re always willing to learn more – and make personal adjustments that can help you find your individual eco-friendly path.

By Marissa Cohen

Photo By Sommer Poquette

Reusable Bags

Say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012. The New Year brings us a chance to make small changes to our lives – and stick to them. Here’s a small list of eco-friendly New Year’s plans, including a list of built-in excuses, and ways to (re)discover that it’s easy being green after all.

Walking Anywhere

The 2011 Excuse: It’s all too easy to take the car. That’s one time-honored excuse to avoid walking. It’s equally as true that certain areas don’t lend themselves to easy strolls to the grocery store. Who wants to cross busy streets on foot when it’s easier to drive?

The 2012 Plan: If you walk only a half-hour a day, you’ll reduce carbon dioxide by over eighty million tons. Plus, you’ll add some stress relief and some daily exercise to your new, 2012 routine.

Buying a Water Bottle

The 2011 Excuse: Why buy a stainless steel or BPA-free water bottle if you can drink out of a plastic bottle that’s available in every vending machine or drug store? Plus, sometimes we’re just lazy, tricking ourselves into thinking it’s easier to buy water bottles in bulk from the supermarket.

The 2012 Plan: Dumping the plastic water bottles for good can cut down on waste. After all, most plastic water bottles are a waste of resources. When you drink from plastic water bottles on a regular basis, chances are you’re ingesting chemicals from the plastic. Most eco-friendly reusable water bottles can be found for a relatively inexpensive price and are well worth the purchase. You’ll be protecting your body from toxins and protecting the environment from extra waste. If you must drink from a plastic water bottle, go with one that has the numbers #1 or # 5 on the bottom and avoid numbers #3, #6, or #7, as those numbers all contain potentially toxic materials.

Reusable Shopping Bags

The 2011 Excuse: We can reuse those plastic grocery bags for anything from trash liners to doggy messes. But the problem is that we can easily stockpile bags. I’m guilty of the same thing: I’ve somehow managed to compile dozens of plastic grocery bags, more than we could ever use.

The 2012 Plan: Keep a small pile of reusable shopping bags in the trunk of your car. Once you’ve unpacked your groceries, make sure that the bags go right back out to the car. Make a vow not to bring new plastic bags into the house until you’ve safely used the ones you’ve got.

By Marissa Cohen

Photo by  MissMalaprop

LED lights (that’s light emitting diode) are a green must-have when decorating for the holiday season.

Energy Efficient

Forget the electricity wasting holiday lights, which use an astounding 90% more energy than LED lights, according to the U.S. government’s Energy Star program. Another plus is that LED lights last far longer than traditional lights. While they may cost slightly more than a traditional string of lights, LED lights have many positives over regular lights.

Safe Style

Also, the risk of fire may be lower with LED lights. Most LED bulbs stay fairly cool to the touch, as opposed to traditional lights, which can burn little hands, harm pets, or ignite materials that are fire prone. Better still, traditional glass bulbs may shatter when dropped, while LED lights won’t break. No worries, LED bulbs come in several sizes and colors. Keep them up post-holiday and use them to illuminate a room at a fraction of the energy cost as traditional bulbs.

Old Lights

What should you do with your old, traditional holiday lights? Never fear, recycling programs are here. Simply mail them to an LED-recycling program. Also, several home goods stores are willing to recycle your old lights for free. A simple online search can direct you to stores in your area, so that all those wires and bulbs can be recycled and enjoy a second life.

Geeky and Green

Nothing is sweeter for me than the dreamy combination of nerd culture and green living. For others who are green and geeky, there are some interesting LED style products out there, but, for my money, nothing on the planet could ever top this Star Wars LED Lightsaber keychain flashlight. Sadly, it’s backordered, but personally, I think it’s worth the wait. So, if you should need a tiny LED flashlight for, say, putting up the eco-friendly string of LED holiday lights in the first place, check this out. Go ahead. Use the LED flashlight and join the Rebel Alliance.

Photo by Carbon Arc

By Marissa Cohen

As I looked around my house, I wondered how we could go green for New Years. Would noisemakers be a thing of the past? And what about decorations? Here’s how we’re going to ring in the New Year and still make our celebration as green as possible.

Tablecloths

If you’re having an at-home blow out, avoid the store-bought plastic tablecloths in exchange for an old, freshly laundered white sheet. Also, check out the old stuff. You’d be surprised what goodies may hide in old drawers and cabinets. While wracking my brain for stuff to use for New Year’s, I was lucky enough to find my grandmother’s tablecloth, somehow in excellent condition. Reusing an old white sheet for a tablecloth is another thrifty idea.

Plates, Plastics and Glass

If possible, avoid paper plates and instead use washable plates. If you’re having a large get-together and the idea of all that cleanup kills your party buzz, go for recyclable plates. Be sure that you have clearly marked bins for trash and recyclables. Once you’ve got all your favorite drinks together, make sure that you’re recycling glass bottles as you go.

Decorations

Soy candles are all-natural and often have many exotic scents. This New Year’s, I’ll be hunting for some of my favorite mint or basil soy candles. They smell fresh and clean, perfect for the New Year. If you’d rather avoid candles altogether, LED fake candles are the way to go. Get creative with clippings or flowers from the yard. Even if you live in an area where there’s snow on the ground, fallen twigs can be rolled in glitter, painted, and tied with homemade bows. A string of LED holiday lights are great for artistic decoration.

Drinks and Food

Organic champagne and beer can be found pretty much everywhere, but your best bet would be to hunt up a local alternative grocery store or shop online. Vegan patties and crumbles can be substituted for meat in appetizer recipes.

Noisemakers

Since I may be hanging out with some kids for New Year’s, I wanted to make sure they had something to make noise with without wasting plastic. After all, little ones don’t really care what they’re making noise with as long as they can make noise in the first place. If the kids are staying up to ring in the New Year, make homemade shakers out of thick construction paper. Roll a piece of paper into a tube, staple one end, fill the middle part with pumpkin seeds or dry beans, and let them shake away. (The same rules apply with an old canister.) It’s green and the whole thing can be recycled at the end of the night.

Photo by besighyawn

By Marissa Cohen