Trip of a Life Time- Around the World

Traveling is one of the true amenities of the human experiences.  If you are an environmentalist there are things that you constantly think about relative to your carbon foot print.  I have friends and family all over the world and own a dilemma; how to I enjoy the company of these friends and people I cherish, while maintaining my sense of responsibility to protecting the environment?

Over the past five years I have made many changes in my lifestyle.  I sold two cars and a motorcycle; developed an acute awareness for my waste habits, including recycling, and composting to produce my own food (effectively reducing the distance food has to travel to get to my table and the environmental costs associated with producing that food).  I use a waterfall system to wash my dishes by hand; I turn my hot water tank down to a temperature I can bare (warm) in the Summer; I don't leave water running when brushing my teeth or taking a shower (meaning, I turn the water off while I am soaping my body); I use a rain barrel to water my house plants and in the winter, I use the water running in the shower for my plants (because it takes time to heat up- why waste usable cold water?); I buy used clothes because I know how much water it take to produce a pair of jeans; and I pick up furniture being thrown out by others to furnish my home as I think about how long it might otherwise sit in the landfill as waste.

Despite all these things and more, I still have reservation about doing extensive traveling.  So how do I reconcile these concerns?  My hope is that I will learn more things along the way that will make a bigger difference in my life; enable me to make a bigger difference in the lives of others, so that my overall impact is reduced because of the net benefit.  Obviously I hope to share some of my experience and research to persuade others to practice environmentally sound habits.

It is challenging to see that some of the worst habits are right here at home in the United States.  Perhaps there are some positive lessons in the economic downturn we are currently experiencing.  Slowing our consumption rate is a really good starting point.  We could begin to reconcile our fuel usage and establish a national campaign on conservation that is relentless with clear objectives that achieve specific milestones- that would be data worth tracking.

I would like to say that I will just do my part, but the planet is much too important to me to not be diligent in persuading others, while consistently raising the bar for myself about acting more responsibly relative to being climate conscious.

How do I justify making this journey I believe to be an important next step in my life?  My answer may not be the correct one, which I will reserve until I collect more responses from my readers and friends, but I will begin by telling you the impact I have is on my mind every waking moment; at night I dream about a better world.