Liz Knowles
Sustainable eating options can also be cost effective and healthy.
Bring the nuts. Buying nuts from the bulk bin at your grocery store before flying allows you to choose organic options and use your own container, and will always cost less than buying at the airport. Nuts combined with yogurt or oatmeal purchased at the airport can make a healthy and inexpensive meal. Nuts aren’t the most sustainable food in terms of their production but they offer a big bang for their buck in terms of health, satisfying hunger on the road, and portability.
Water bottles are expensive. Let’s face it, a bottle of water, particularly at the airport, is expensive. Can you be absolutely sure with all water bottle manufacturing brands that it is not just tap water? Filtered water from designated refilling stations is what it says it is and it is free.
Whatcha got cookin’? Home-cooked meals contribute to your health and well-being, help you save money, and are the best way to know what you are eating. Carrying food is not always an option but when possible, try replacing one meal at the airport with homemade take-out. As an artist, staying at peoples’ houses comes with the added bonus of home-cooked meals.
These boots were made for walking. When in a tour-date city or town, walk around instead of taking taxis. It is a great way to experience a place, get some exercise, save money and save gas. In an airport, rather than taking the train, escalator, elevator, or moving sidewalk, just walk to the next terminal. This won’t directly result in the reduction of emissions caused by these automated features but it is better for YOU and it will indicate to the airport facility managers, even if only on a small level, that we want the option to use our own human power. Big design changes happen for obvious reasons—budget, efficiency, cost-effectiveness—but they also happen because designers notice how people use space. (Where do you think those rocking chairs came from?)