I chose to focus on the connection between being green and being on the road. When I was still in the travel writing field, I came across a study about just how green Americans are when they travel. The results horrified me; 62.5 percent of folks surveyed said that "When I stay in a hotel one reason I use water and energy less efficiently is because I don't have to pay for it."

(Check here for more stats and my initial outrage.)

I hope to galvanize travelers to act responsibly--at a minimum, to match their behavior at home where they do pay for it--and believe that at least being cognizant of the issues brings us one step closer to making a positive impact.

Several of the resources below are among those that my former newsroom colleagues and I have recommended to the general public in order to address a few of the major issues facing those who travel, including carbon off-set, myths of the "eco-travel" trend and endangered destinations. All of the resources offer concrete steps for the common traveler to take in order to decrease their domestic and international environmental impact, whether through tips and suggestions or by highlighting how these issues are addressed in the press.

There are numerous other resources that would warrant inclusion in this list; I chose organizations that are reliable, value-added leaders in the field. The first resource, for example, sends a higher percentage of every dollar donated right to supporting carbon-offset projects, then doother like organizations. I feel that each resource is either the first, the best or the most vocal in its field. In several cases, they have ties to the Washington, D..C area and so I thought them particularly appropriate for a wiki started in the same region.

For additional resources concerning green travel, The Washington Post Travel section recently put together two special issues, which you can read here and here. (Requires free registration).

Carbonfund.org
Author: Carbonfund.org Foundation
URL: http://www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/individuals/
Why I chose this resource: This Silver Spring, Md.-based foundation is a prime example of the numerous companies and foundations that have spring up in recent years to address the issue of carbon off-set. Carbonfund.org partners with Orbitz.com, which gives travelers the option to off-set the carbon emissions caused by travel purchased on the site. Travelers can add a few extra dollars to their tab and choose how Carbonfund.org will spend that money, whether on renewable energy, reforestation or energy- efficiency projects.

Ecotourism at Conservation International
Author: Conservation International
URL: http://www.ecotour.org/xp/ecotour/
Why I chose this resource: Washington, D.C.-based Conservation International partners responsibly with other organizations to leverage the impact of its initiatives; recent partnerships include those with USAID and the Rainforest Alliance. Its local ecotourism partnerships bring attention to travel destinations in Africa and Central and South America.

Sustainable Tourism for Travelers
Author: Rainforest Alliance
URL: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/tourism.cfm?id=travelers
Why I chose this resource: The Rainforest Alliance supports certification for organizations that follow best practices when it comes to sustainable tourism; part of its mission is to "educate travelers to seek out certified operations as a means to differentiate legitimate eco-friendly operations from those that might make misleading claims." It's a trust-worthy, reliable, transparent non-profit that trains and promotes local organizations who follow these best practices.

Lonely Planet Responsible Travel
Author: Lonely Planet Publications
URL: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/responsibletravel/
Why I chose this resource: Lonely Planet, perhaps more than any other publisher out there, is responsible for inspiring travel to "undiscovered" locations. It's a double-edged sword that travel writers face: by extolling the virtues of a place, you honor it and yet potentially destroy it, by encouraging others to experience it for themselves. Lonely Planet does an admirable job of encouraging responsible, green travel.

"Green" Hotels Association Member List
Author: Green Hotels Association
URL: http://www.greenhotels.com/members.htm
Why I chose this resource: The site is very basic but includes the criteria for being a member of the association (they're the folks who kicked off the idea of letting hotel guests choose whether to have their towels and sheets replaced daily). The list of members is key because they are mostly (not all, but mostly) independent hotels; what they lack in name recognition they make up for by adhering to important principles. Without being familiar with the list, you might skip over the hotels if they appeared in an online search, leaning towards the known chain rather than the unknown independent. Membership in this organization lends credence to claims of being green.

Ecotravel News: An environmentally friendly resource for the latest on ecotourism
Author: Lisa Tae-Ran Schroeder
URL: http://ecotravelnews.blogspot.com/
Why I chose this resource: This freelance journalist-written blog is an extremely opinionated digest of eco-travel news from myriad mainstream news sources such as the New York Times, Budget Travel, and the Christian Science Monitor. Schroeder reads it all and comments on it so you don't have to (and then provides links to the original articles so you can decide for yourself). In a ballsy if self-destructive move for a freelancer, she doesn't pull punches when a story in a prominent publication lauds a leisure travel activity that many believe is environmentally irresponsible.