Being Green This Vacation

The summer officially began a couple of weeks ago, and unofficially kicked-off Memorial Day weekend, but the reality is that summer vacation for most of use doesn't begin until the Fourth of July. This year, summer vacations are likely to be found closer to home, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).  Although air fares to some of the best destinations have dropped, they may be on the rise according to USA Today.

And with gas prices coming down from early Spring-highs, hitting the road is proving to be the way to go. Moreover, with most of the on-line travel sites offering deals ranging from a free nights stay with only a couple of nights paid for, booking an affordable vacation in a nice hotel isn't that expensive.  So trying Yahoo travel, Expedia or Hotels.com or the larger aggregator sites is worth a few minutes (or hours) this holiday season. 

Importantly, if you travel by car this year, you're using a lot less carbon-based fuel than when you fly, cutting green house gases and global warming.

The Congress is finally taking action on global warming, having kept their heads in the sand for years. Problem is, the president's push to get something done has created a monstrous bill that doesn't do nearly enough to change behavior or to provide the right incentives for business, and puts too much junk into what should be a simple bill, so I'm paraphrasing David Brooks.

And for those free marketers who think that government shouldn't be in the business of promoting business -- you know, the whole winners and losers argument-- well I have two items for you to consider: the home mortgage deduction and the highway trust fund. Both of these choose winners: homeownership over renting on one hand, and cars over trains on the other.

Those of us who want a greener Virginia and a greener America can make the choice to drive close to home and enjoy the ridiculously incredible sights that are within a few hundred miles of us. Or, better yet, we can take a train, which uses even less fossil fuel than our cars. Of course, trains don't go to as many places we can reach with cars or even those carbon catastrophes called planes, but trains are fun. When is the last time you said that about taking a plane trip?