Last week, we celebrated Earth Week on the blog. Pamela Wolff, the Director of Strategic Alliances and Industry Partnerships for the Motorcoach Council, reached out to share the environmental benefits of traveling by motorcoach.

Today she's stopping by our blog to answer a few questions about motorcoach travel and how to go green on the road.

1)    What’s the environmental impact of traveling by motorcoach?

Motorcoach travel is the most environmentally friendly form of transportation available, the greenest way to travel in North America.  Motorcoaches currently provide over 206 passenger miles per gallon of fuel compared to 92 passenger MPG for commuter rail, 44 passenger MPG for domestic air carrier, and 27 MPG for single passenger automobiles.  Each motorcoach has the potential to take 55 cars from the road reducing congestion, saving fuel, and cutting emissions.

With The Biggest Loser in its ninth season and boot camps popping up like mushrooms, it's no shock that some people have taken the next step in keeping trim: opting for fitness-focused vacations. Unlike traditional vacations where buffets, poolside lounging, and cocktails rule the roost, these fitness retreats are dominated by crunches and curls. Sometimes.

Editor's Note: It's Earth Week on the blog! In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, The Window Seat editors are blogging about our favorite ways to go green while globetrotting. Ask us your eco-questions, join in the green conversation, and help us celebrate Mother Earth.

Hoorah for carbon offsets and yay for eco-friendly hotels--but booking a flight, hotel room, and rental car only marks the start of your vacation, so why let it be the end of your eco-friendly efforts?

To keep greening your travels after you book, there are loads of easy things you can do during your vacation. Here are six favorites.

Editor's Note: It's Earth Week on the blog! In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, The Window Seat editors are blogging about our favorite ways to go green while globetrotting. Ask us your eco-questions, join in the green conversation, and help us celebrate Mother Earth.

Happy Earth Day, everyone! In honor of the occasion, I hope that you can take at least a moment today and appreciate something about the natural world, whether it’s acknowledging the stars overhead as you scurry down the sidewalk on your way home from work, the new blooms pushing their way up and out of your backyard garden, or that sweet spring smell in the air that lingers after a lilting rain.

Editor's Note: It's Earth Week on the blog! In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, The Window Seat editors are blogging about our favorite ways to go green while globetrotting. Ask us your eco-questions, join in the green conversation, and help us celebrate Mother Earth.

Earth Day’s 40th anniversary is April 22, and many travelers are wondering how to green their hotel stays. Many hotels claim be “green” properties, but all hotels are not created equal when it comes to sustainability practices. That said, there are easy ways to green your hotel stay without paying more or giving up the pampering you deserve on a vacation.

Editor's Note: It's Earth Week on the blog! In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, The Window Seat editors are blogging about our favorite ways to go green while globetrotting. Ask us your eco-questions, join in the green conversation, and help us celebrate Mother Earth.

According to a study by Cars.com, drivers across the country are making the choice go green when they're on the road. The consumer advice site named the top cities for hybrid car shoppers, with San Francisco taking the number one spot. As an Earth-loving traveler, I always encourage other road warriors to think green not just when they're at home, but when they're traveling, too, and the growing number of eco-friendly car rental options makes that challenge easier.

It's Earth Week on the blog! In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, The Window Seat editors are blogging about our favorite ways to go green while globetrotting. Ask us your eco-questions, join in the green conversation, and help us celebrate Mother Earth.

(Click the play button on the left, not the video screen)

There are many easy ways to green your vacation, but airfare presents the biggest challenge to today's eco-minded traveler. There's no such thing as hybrid or biofuel planes and yet air travel is a necessary part of reaching most destinations quickly. (I don't know about you, but I only get a few weeks off a year. Sure, it'd be nice to bike to Mexico but...)

Want to get outside and play this weekend? Hop in the car and explore a national park - for free! From April 17-25, the National Park Service is waiving entrance fees to all 392 national parks in celebration of Earth Day.

Check out a park within driving distance, or visit one of these less traveled national parks recommended by AARP Magazine. The magazine delved into fun facts about America's great outdoors to find everything from the most prehistoric park in the country to the most isolated. Here are just a few from the collection:

Smallest - Hot Springs, Arkansas

Travelocity’s 2010 Memorial Day Hotel Report shows summer travelers are planning on hitting the beaches in abundance this holiday, and it’s no wonder. Snowfall and cold weather set records in New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.  and even Miami – major feeder cities for many of the top beach destinations.  The good news is that from big-city stretches of sand to the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, the unofficial start of summer brings with it great hotel deals for travelers.

With the exception of South Florida, every one of the top ten beach destinations is showing a year-over-year decrease in Average Daily Rates (ADR) for Memorial Day, meaning travelers are actually getting a better deal this Memorial Day weekend than last -- no small thing, considering last year was the "year of the travel deal."

What do Paris' Eiffel Tower, Seattle's Space Needle, and San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts have in common? They were all built for prior World's Fair events.

If you're unfamiliar with World's Fairs, try imagining a cross between a technology convention and a county fair, with nations from all over the world setting up the displays. There are elaborate buildings, artistic displays, live performances, movies, and more--and this year, the festivities are taking place in Shanghai, China.

Dear Editors,

I've been reading about the new carry-on bag fee that Spirit Airlines will start charging their customers. At first, I wasn't really concerned because I don't fly them, but then I started reading about other airlines doing the same thing. What do you think?

Evelyn

Photo by Willamor Media.

Hi Evelyn,

I've spent the past week conducting media interviews on the new Spirit Airlines carry-on bag fee and was asked whether or not other airlines will follow in every single interview. My response to the question is perhaps a bit unsatisfactory: We'll have to wait and see.

I hate to be a debbie downer, but two of the happiest stories in the news—the 40th anniversary of Earth Day next week and the World Cup in South Africa in June—have been reminding me that things may not be looking up for one of my favorite places: Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater.

The crater is the world's largest intact caldera, the historic home of Tanzania’s Masai people, and a natural enclosure renowned for its dense population of wildlife. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage site that’s been under scrutiny from UNESCO since 2007 as the area has struggled to maintain a balance between conservation and development. Ngorongoro Crater already spent time on UNESCO’s danger list from 1984 to 1989, and the notable increase in safari vehicles since then means it could appear on the list again.

Well, it's actually happened: an airline has started charging passengers to use the restrooms.

Sounds crazy, right? Sounds like the sort of thing people joke about, right after they've finished complaining about baggage fees and paying for that once-free pack of pretzels.

But nope, this isn't a joke, my friends: in the next few months, Ryanair, that famously no-frills budget airline, is going to make all its airplane bathrooms coin-operated. The fee to pee? A princely one pound (or one Euro, depending on what currency you're carrying.)

Guess Mom was right after all---it really does pay to visit the bathroom before starting a  journey.

Or rather, it keeps you from paying, I guess.

The Tiger Woods scandal could be good for the travel industry. Travelocity reports that in the days following Woods’ announcement that he’d return to professional golf at the upcoming Masters, searches for trips to Augusta – flights, hotels and vacation packages – increased over 16 percent as compared to the week prior. And a trip won't come cheap, even economy hotels are charging a premium for the Masters.

When Tiger Woods tees off at Augusta National at 1:42 p.m. today, the world will be watching. Those lucky enough to have scored passes to the Masters will have a front-row seat to the action.

Alright, I admit it. Last weekend I went to see the movie Hot Tub Time Machine, and while I’m not going to say it’s the most brilliant movie ever made, it did succeed in making me laugh—and that’s really all I could ask for on a gloomy and rainy Saturday night. In the movie, a group of guys check into a rather rundown ski hotel and find that the hot tub on the back deck has transported them to the year 1986 when neon was still in style, the Talking Heads were “letting the days go by,” and the Russians were the “enemy.” Don’t worry, I haven’t spoiled any of the plot.

Full disclosure. I'm no stranger to reality TV. In fact, I love it. Gimme Gossip Girl, The Hills, and America's Next Top Model any day of the week over some dry documentary or bad cooking show.

So let's just say when the CW started running trailers for the new show Fly Girls, I set my DVR to record it immediately. Fly Girls follows five easy-on-the-eyes Virgin America flight attendants as they jet all over...well, the nation. Keep in mind, VA doesn't fly abroad. And VA is fully embracing the show, complete with a launch party fittingly held at 10,000 feet. Check out this Gadling video. (Guess my invitation to the event got lost in the mail.)

Marking another milestone in the movement to snuff out smoking rooms for good, in July Wisconsin will become the first state to ban smoking in guestrooms of hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, and rental cabins. The law reinforces what many hotel chains are already doing; the first chain to go entirely smoke-free was Westin in 2006, and Marriott, Sheraton, and others weren’t far behind.

In his Washington Post column this week, Christopher Elliott points out that Wisconsin's move is great news for those of us who have lost count of the number of smoking rooms we’ve endured despite efforts to avoid them. And most of us do try to avoid them: when Westin went smoke-free, the chain said it was a popular decision among the 92% of guests already requesting non-smoking rooms.