Very much in the mood for Halloween this year, because there are a number of ghosts out to haunt me that I have to go out and make peace with tonight. One of them is my green conscience, a kind of ghost inside the machine that is me.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been thinking alot this week about how, despite my best intentions, I am not helping the Earth at all by being such a globetrotter. It's like 2 contrasting parts of myself are having a little conflict -- one side of me that loves to travel far and wide, and the other that loves nature above all. My mind is fighting with heart.

After sitting with this issue as much as I could, I decided it's time for action.
First step: awareness. How much AM I giving back despite the downside of travelling as much as I do? My list is small, but positive:
- I invest only in green funds and have my savings in small, independent, green banks
- I buy organic food
- I drive a miniature car
- I wear natural materials and buy more and more 2nd hand, organic textiles and handmade clothing
- I don't smoke
- I don't buy honey from mass producers, as they kill the bees and don't take care of the gene pool
- I don't stay in big hotel chains
- I recycle glass, tins, paper, batteries, veggies/compost etc without cutting corners
- I do almost everything digitally to avoid printing paper

Sounds good, right?
Like I could go back to sleep now with a clear conscience. But I don't know, is it enough? I feel like there are at least 2 more aspects to

explore: responsible travel itself, of course (cutting the number of flights and being choosier about where I stay) and also how I actually live

-- that is the house I live in. Beyond that there is of course the bigger question of my role, like all our roles, in influencing the big polluters of

the world in business to change their behaviour, but that is a story for another day. Let's start close to home.

How could I live more green in the future? Would I consider moving out of my wonderful place and joining an eco-minded community? Or

even creating one myself? Well before I pack my bags I thought I'd do some research (click here for a fabulous resource)  and of course, being a traveller, go and visit some eco-villages and meet people who actually already are walking the talk and living the lifestyle. If I visit these places first I can get a feel for what we are getting ourselves into...

Some places I'm heading to in the short term are in

Italy - Damanhur
Swiss - WhitePod
Portugal - Tamera

I'll start with the ones closest by, since preferrably I will go by train, bike, bus, ski, snowshoe, or on foot : )

Phew, now that I have launched my little green project for the coming months, I feel so much better! But does the Earth? Well I'm off to the forrest now to check. And I'll keep you posted on my travels. If you want to join me, drop me a line, or see you there!