Eco-Truth vs Eco-B.S.

Earth Day is April 22 and you cannot open a magazine, watch the news, or view a web page without coming across some mention of it. After all, "global warming", which has to be the catchphrase of the year, is on everyone's agenda. No longer the domain of scorned tree-huggers, everyone has hopped on the Green Bus - and bought their carbon offsets to boot.

This is certainly true in the hotel industry, with both boutique and large properties pushing to keep up with the public's demand for "green". Most of us, admittedly, don't really want to change the way we travel. Opting for the bus instead of a transatlantic flight limits our options, and we still want to enjoy all the creature comforts we've come to associate with a luxury vacation. So it's really helpful when the hotels, airlines and travel agencies find ways for us to have our locally-sourced, preservative-free soy cake and eat it too.

But - how to be sure that you're not being fed a line of eco b.s.? With everyone scrambling to promote themselves as friends of the environment, some claims ring a little truer than others. We're not telling you you have to be eco-friendly when you travel - although we encourage it, of course, at the end of the day it's up to you how and where you spend your vacation. But if you're going to travel green, we want to make sure you're not getting duped by marketers who've just realized that today's buzzword can make for more visitors (and more of a different green in their pockets).

Over at Responsibletravel.com, we came across a great article by Justin Francis: 10 ways to tell if your eco-lodge is really eco. While all of the tips require asking questions of the management, the truth is you may be able to find some of the answers online. For instance, tip #1 tells you to ask if eco-friendly policy is written anywhere. While an urban hotel may not have this readily available on their website, many eco-lodges in nature settings do. Although the tips are geared towards eco-lodges, many of the questions can be asked of urban properties as well: how the building is heated and how they treat their wastewater are perfect examples.

So, to be sure that the earth's resources - and your good intentions - are not being wasted, do a little homework when planning your next trip. Check out all the tips at responsibletravel.com.