Staying green on vacation doesn’t mean spotting a single fern in the hotel foyer or that the facilities are a long walk a way and lit by flashlights. Here are five of the best eco-resorts in the United States that are luxurious to their guests and to the planet.

1. The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel

“Gaia” means “Mother Earth” in Greek, so it’s fitting that this hotel was the world’s first building to be certified gold in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The United States Green Building Council awards LEED certification to buildings after judging them in six categories, including Gaia’s expertise: sustainability. In the 130 rooms, the tiles and carpets are made of recycled materials, and all the wood comes from managed forests. The lush, green lawns never feel fertilizer’s negative impact. Located in the heart of coastal California’s wine country, Gaia’s spa specializes in vinotherapy, a relaxing treatment made from local grape extracts. Rooms start at $89 a night.

2. Inn By the Sea

Inn By the Sea, a luxury beach destination, overlooks Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. They invested in a multi-million dollar renovation in 2008, updating the 57 guest rooms and building a new bar, a glass-enclosed restaurant with ocean views, and a full-service spa–all environmentally conscious endeavors. The staff cleans each room with non-toxic solutions, the fitness room has recycled rubber floors, and solar panels heat the pool. The Sea Glass restaurant tries to only serve indigenous fare from the surrounding farms and sea, and the menu reflects their attempts, offering Maine-foraged mushroom tarts and steamed, wild Maine mussels.  Double rooms start at $189 a night.

3.  Oil Rig Platform Resort and Spa

Ingenious architects refurbished and transformed one of the 4,000 oilrigs in the Gulf of Mexico into a luxury eco-resort and spa. Using all renewable power sources, they took an iconic source of dirty energy and created an eco-haven. A giant, vertical wind turbine and solar panels power the resort. The luxury spa offers all the usual services and takes advantage of being surrounded by water and offers boating, kayaking, snorkeling, and diving adventures.  Other unique aspects include a glass lobby floor to see the ocean below, and every room’s windows boast endless views of the Gulf. In the central core of the former rig, a gigantic tube filled with water can be seen from every single room, and acts as a ballast for the entire rig. Entertainment shows, like Cirque du Soleil’s “O,” are scheduled to perform in the central core at this one-of-a-kind eco-resort.

4.  The Lodge at Sun Ranch

The Lodge is not your ordinary dude ranch. Hidden in Cameron, Montana—the River Valley—genuine cowboys man this 26,000-acre expanse of property and tend to more than 1,500 head of cattle. The lodge has six rooms and two private cabins, all with breathtaking views of the mountains.  Indulge in western adventures and ride horseback, fly-fish, and go on a hike or boat, all the while knowing that this resort goes the extra step to reduce its carbon footprint. Sun Ranch donated a ten-year lease to Trout Unlimited to guarantee the waters on the property remain free of irrigation. They also removed all barbed wire so wildlife can roam the grounds, and they used recyclable materials to renovate the main lodge. They consistently purchase their produce from local farmers for daily, fresh meals in the restaurant. Rates start at $1,400 a person for a three-night stay, including all meals and excursions.

5. Lova Lava Land

Lova Lava Land is woman-owned and ran, three-acre, 100 percent off-grid, 100 percent solar-powered eco-resort on Hawaii’s Big Island. In every way possible, they tried to use green, sustainable, and recycled materials in constructing the resort construction. Accommodations range from a complete, round Yurt, to retro, renovated VW Camper Buses, all which feature composting toilets. Visitors can enjoy creative amenities like a lava-rock shower from rocks harvested from their own land, walking tours that highlight the local flora and fauna, and play coconut Bocce Ball. Rates start at $40 per night.

Escaping from your daily life on a relaxing getaway doesn’t have to mean taking a break from the green life. Visit the website of one of these eco-resorts to truly enjoy your vacation, guilt-free.

When the 2010 United States Census started campaigning for Americans to get counted, they mailed to each household a letter explaining the forthcoming census paperwork, a postcard reminder to check the mailbox, and the census itself.  Thank you, Census Bureau, for unnecessarily wasting paper and simultaneously annoying nearly 115 million households. Go planet!

Reducing paper mail is an easy step towards living green. Direct mail, bills, advertisements, and catalogs consume huge amounts of paper. Here are five ways to master your mailbox and control the amount of paper you send and receive.

1. Dear “Current Resident,” reduce and refuse direct mail, that is, junk mail. Companies spend more money on this type of marketing than any other, often mailing to a large number of people in an attempt to gain customers and offer discounts. Not only do they waste time and paper, direct marketers invade privacy. There are options to rid your mailbox of this common clutter:

• Write “Refuse” any unopened mail and send it back to the post office. However, this method does not cut off the source.
• Contact the company directly and ask to be removed from their mailing list.
• Visit websites that control your direct mail preferences, such as www.dmachoice.org and www.donotmail.org.
• Campaign for a National Do Not Mail Registry, a “Do Not Call” list for mailboxes.

2. Ask for paperless statements from your banks and other billing services. According to www.payitgreen.org, switching to electronic bills and statements not only reduces paper’s negative impact on the environment, but also protects your privacy by switching to online options. If you have numerous accounts to transfer to paperless, websites such as www.mint.com track multiple accounts online and assist with managing your budget and payments.

3. Ask your employer if you can be paid via direct deposit. You’ll get the money faster and save yourself a trip to the bank. Pay It Green notes that every year, paper checks use over 600 million gallons of fuel and add over 3 million tons of CO2 into the environment.

4. Recycle the paper mail you receive at home. Many municipalities offer curbside pickup of newspapers, junk mail, and other paper products. If not, check out www.earth911.com to find your local recycling center and other green living tips.

5. Do as much mailing as you can electronically. Email is quicker than snail mail and costs nothing. In addition to your monthly bills and payments, consider other ways to cut down on your paper mail. For example, send out electronic “Save the Date” wedding invites, RSVP online, and cancel your magazine subscriptions (you can read all the gossip online, anyways). You’ll also save money on postage stamps!

Clearly, it’s easy to adopt a lifestyle that reduces the paper mail you send and receive. Not only can you thwart the privacy-stealing junk-mailers, but also you save yourself time and money.  Don’t let the mailbox win!

Americans love shoes. In fact, there are around seven pairs for every person living in the United States. That’s a lot, especially when you take into consideration the materials used to make up our favorites. Most contain a number of different synthetic and petroleum-derived materials, manufactured in China, that release toxins like the carcinogenic dioxin into the air. Factory workers are exposed to dangerous glues and tanning agents for leather. By buying shoes made from sustainable materials, you will reduce the surprising carbon cost of footwear.

• While Simple Shoes manufactures their shoes outside of the United States, they are committed to using fair labor practices and sustainable materials for their products. Their sandals, casual shoes, sneakers and dress shoes are made from a combination of different recycled and sustainable materials, including organic cotton, recycled car tires and innertubes, hemp, silk, and cork. Their packaging is as minimal as it can get, and all biodegradable.

• Earth Shoes makes casual and athletic shoes from bamboo, hemp, recycled plastic and water-soluble solvents. Their special design, called a “negative heel”, promotes leg strength and weight loss by making the heel of the shoe lower than the thick sole of the arch and toes—in effect, you are constantly walking uphill. This lowered heel is supposed to align your hips and spine, straighten your head and activate your core—so not only are you doing the earth good by wearing these shoes, you are doing you body good as well.

• Patagonia puts a lot of thought into the materials they use to make their shoes, in addition to their functionality. While they still choose to use leather in some of their products because of its extreme durability and protective properties, they reuse hides from the meat industry that would be discarded otherwise. Their tanning process strives to be as earth friendly and safe for the tanners as possible. They offer a line of vegan shoes made with all water-soluble solvents and uppers made from recycled and synthetic materials. They recycle their own rubber scraps into soles, and use Heavea latex, which has an extraction process that is actually beneficial to the tree.

But before you decide to buy new shoes, consider the greenest options of all: shoe recycling. If your shoe breaks, repair it, rather than buying a new pair—it’s undoubtably cheaper. If you really want a new pair, try buying from a thrift store. Plenty of lightly worn and interesting shoes are available at your local Good Will or Salvation Army stores.

Do your best to purchase shoes made in the United States, preferably by union workers. Don’t be fooled by shoes manufactured in the Mariana Islands, however—while they are U.S. Commonwealth, the factories there are not required to pay the minimum wage o their workers.

While it might seem silly to worry about what shoes you wear, we must consider all the ways we can limit our carbon footprint and promote fair labor practices. If each of us recognized our significant contribution to climate change and globalization, then maybe these problems could be resolved.

A lot of people want to live green or give to environmental causes, but they have trouble finding information or advice. Enter some of Hollywood’s hottest stars who use their celebrity status for good: to raise awareness about the need for global environmentalism. Here are five examples of true star power:

Leonardo DiCaprio not only flies commercially and drives a hybrid car, but in 1998, he started The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation which, “…supports efforts to secure a sustainable future for our planet and all of its inhabitants.” The foundation promotes global warming initiatives, fresh water and ocean conservation, and the need for fuel biodiversity.  DiCaprio also wrote and narrated The 11^th Hour, a documentary film that interviewed green leaders and discussed the challenges and changes facing our generation.

Actress and activist Daryl Hannah sat in a tree for 23 days in a bid to save L.A.’s South Central Farm, an urban community garden. She was arrested for her efforts, but this longtime environmentalist didn’t let the experience deter her. She drives a biodiesel car and runs her eco-blog dh love life, giving tips on living green and ways to get involved with green movements.

Brad Pitt parlayed his love of architecture into rejuvenating the 9^th Ward of New Orleans, a neighborhood devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Pitt founded the non-profit organization Make It Right and remains on the cutting edge of green architecture movement, which strives to build environment-friendly houses.  Because of Pitt and organizations such as Make it Right and Global Green, the Lower 9^th Ward is on its way to becoming one of the largest “green” neighborhoods in the nation.  Pitt also supports his former co-star and noted green guru Ed Norton’s Solar Neighbors Program, a joint project with BP that connects well-to-do individuals with low-income families who wish to go solar, but can’t afford it. Anytime a celebrity purchases a solar energy system, another family receives one for free.

Matt Damon lends his name to several green media projects. He narrated the National Geographic documentary Running the Sahara, which depicts the diverse cultures of the Saharan people while highlighting the need for clean water. Damon put his money where his mouth is and in response to the African water crisis described in the film, cofounded water.org. In 2007, Damon joined up with his longtime friend and writing partner Ben Affleck to raise awareness for the “Clean my Ride, Flex my Fuel” program, a campaign aimed at getting the US Congress to raise fuel-efficiency standards and provide more ethanol-based fuel stations across America.

Not only does she play a Hero on television, Hayden Panettiere is one teenage actress that can say she is one in real life. She’s the spokeswoman for Save the Whales Again!, an international conservation campaign for dolphins, whales, and other sea life. Panettiere even sold personal items online to raise money for the foundation. Most recently, Panettiere stars in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, which raised awareness about the secret slaughter of 20,000 dolphins in Japan.  As a result of Panettiere’s heroic efforts and the film’s success, many of the dolphins are to be released into the wild.

Even though you don’t have to be a movie star or a millionaire to make a difference, these movie stars and yes, millionaires, are doing their part, and have helped many find resources to live and give green.