Summer Vacation Green Tips

It is that time of year again: smack in the middle of summer, and the beginning of many people’s summer vacations. While I agree that major priorities when going to the beach should include working on that tan and playing in the sand, there are also simple tasks you can do while vacationing to be eco-friendly. Here are just a few tips for helping out the environment this summer.

1. When you go to the beach, use a sunscreen that contains zinc or titanium. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recommends staying away from sunscreens with the ingredient oxybenzone because it is thought to alter hormonal systems. After all, most sunscreens end up in the water as people who apply it go swimming soon after, and nobody wants to be swimming in unsafe water!
2. Keep hazardous materials out of your water supply. What goes down your drain and put in your lawn can eventually end up in the ocean. One way of making sure you are not harming the environment is simply by paying better attention to what goes down the sink. Keeping oil and grease from going down the drain, using less fertilizer on your lawn, and properly disposing of pet waste are all good ways to keep our water supply cleaner.
3. Shop locally! Locally grown fruits and vegetables are not only fresh and delicious, but by purchasing them you also support businesses which use local resources sustainably. By shopping at local stores, people generally contribute less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss, and pollution from larger retail outlets and big city shopping malls.

These are just a few easy ways to contribute to the environment as the summer progresses. So before thinking about getting tan over the next few weeks, consider going green first!

What are some other ways to be green this summer? Do you do any of these suggestions regularly? Let us know what else we can do to make this summer a green one.

Written by: Katie Coughlan