Energy and Electricity Sustainability Practices

Welcome, Durango visitors! We’re so happy to have you come visit our mountain paradise. But with an influx of visitors comes the potential for environmental degradation and overuse of our natural resources. Here are a few ideas to help you conserve energy and leave a smaller footprint while you enjoy your stay. We’ve taken the guesswork out of making your trip as energy efficient (and enjoyable) as possible, ensuring that you can come visit this beautiful part of the world for years and even generations to come.

Easy and Short Term Solutions

Sure, you probably don’t want to spend your vacation worrying about your energy use. It’s a time to relax and luxuriate to be sure. But there are plenty of easy ways to conserve energy while you’re here, without it feeling like a chore.

Turn down your thermostat while you’re out on the town to cut down on extra energy use while you’re away.
Turn off lights and other electronics in your room or rental while you’re gone.
Reuse towels and sheets at the place where you are staying until they are actually dirty. This will help reduce unnecessary laundry.
If you are planning to drive or check your bag, bring your own toiletries. This will keep you from using the sample-size toiletries provided by your accommodations…American landfills get filled with billions of half empty toiletry bottles every year.

Future and Longer-Term Solutions

Here are some solutions to help you conserve energy on the front end of your trip, or even at home while you’re gone!

Plan your trip wisely. Try to take a direct flight instead of multiple flights to get here. The more flights it takes to get there, the more fuel and energy used.
Pack lightly to lighten the overall load on the plane.
Unplug electronics and appliances at your home before leaving on vacation.
Turn down your water heater a few degrees to save energy.
Turn down your thermostat. Why heat the house unnecessarily while no one is there to notice? Of course, during the colder months, you’ll want to keep your house warm enough not to freeze pipes. Too hot isn’t great either. Keeping your thermostat at 55 degrees in the winter, and 85 degrees (Fahrenheit) in the summer should be adequate to keep your home at a good temperature while you’re away.
Use blinds and shades to insulate your home while you’re traveling.

Summarizing

Traveling is such a great way to get a change of scenery and “recharge your batteries.” But there are socially and environmentally responsible ways to enjoy a vacation. Our community appreciates your efforts to minimize your overall ecological footprint while you’re here. Thank you for helping to keep Durango and our surrounding landscape vibrant for the future generations and travelers!