We've told you a little about eco-friendly flying, but green travel has become one of the fastest-growing and most exciting parts of the tourism industry. At this year's ITB travel trade fair in Berlin, sustainable sustainable tourism is one of the biggest themes.

 

Exhibitors are offering ecologic tours at green resorts and hotels as well as vacation packages that are CO2 emissions-free! More and more people are looking for environmentally-conscious ways to travel–a way to see the world and experience new things without harming the world around them. Read more about ITB's sustainable trend here!

 

If you don't have a chance to get to ITB in Berlin, here's a list of some ecotourism travel companies who can help you organize a green vacation.
 

 

Atmosfair have published the first airline climate index ranking international air carriers according to CO2 emissions per flight kilometer and passenger. Taking into account factors like seating capacity per plane (the higher, the better for CO2 efficiency), load factor and aircraft types in use, the ranking offers surprising insights: No airline qualifies for the top two efficiency classes. And even then the highest ranks are occupied by any but the major carriers. Two charter airlines from the UK and Germany lead the pack, with the first major airline (carrying more than 20 million passengers a year), Korean Air, coming in at 20th place.

Here's the link to the full airline index, plus another link to the document outlining atmosfair's methodology.

E-waste, or electronic waste, is a major pollutant and poses a big threat to our environment. Things like computers, cell phones and tv's often end up in big landfills, and they can contain harmful contaminants that put us and the environment at risk. It's not just electronics–fridges, too, can release harmful gases into the atmosphere when they're thrown away.

 

But a new recycling program in Brazil's favelas has come up with a good–and green–solution. Old fridges that have been traded out for new ones are disposed of at a state-of-the-art recycling facility–and the entire process is done without releasing damaging pollutants into the atmosphere.

 

Take a look and let us know what you think!

Tomorrow (March 4th) is the very last day of voting for the '48 Go Green' film competition! It's an international contest that calls for filmmakers and producers to make green-themed films–but they only have 48 hours to do so. All the projects are submitted and, with your votes, the online festival will narrow it down to the top eight selections by Friday!

 

48 Go Green, which was inspired by the 48 Hour Film Project, got started in Athens, Greece back in 2009. It was such a big hit that organizers decided to take it global. Filmmakers can choose any style of fiction film, from comedy to romance to mockumentry–as long as it has an eco-theme. This year, 183 people took part around the world. And the winning film will be screened at the Cannes Film Festival plus $5,000.00–not a bad prize!

 

You can watch last year's winning film and screen all the official entries for this year, too, so cast your votes!

 

 

ecoATM, a startup company from San Diego, has recycled the idea of cash machines. If you are living in the southern California region you may have a good chance to find one of the so called kiosks, you can see in the video below. These machines will recycle your unused tech items and give you money for the trashy things. If you have an expired cell phone, an overplayed MP3 player or used-up ink cartridge, the ecoATM will determine the product, estimated it's value and will make you and offer (you might not be able to refuse). The idea could be a goldmine not only for the company, but for the recycling market as well. Because, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the recyling potential of electronic trash is especially significant. Every year the world generates about 40 million tons of E-waste, which contains valuable quantities of gold, silver and copper. More information on the values of trash you will find here.