Eco friendly travel tips for a + 5% responsible adventure holiday
December 7th, 2007
95% of travel pollution comes from flights
After the success of my last post about eco friendly facilities 
I’ve decided to write some tips about eco-friendly travels.
Every time i watch TV there is someone who talks about pollution, global warming, etc…
But what travellers can do to save the planet?
I think that today “Ecotourism holidays” are a fashion way to travel. Ski resorts prepare for a future without skis and Luxury travel is going “Green”
Most people think: “If I book an eco-lodge it’s Eco-tourism…not?”
But how being green with long flights? Luxurious can be everything but not Eco-friendly…everything requires a lot of money spending is not environmentally friendly per se.
Plan to travel green and reduce air pollution
I’ve tried to do a little search on Google to find tips to travel environmentally responsible, but i’ve noted that most tips can reduce only 5% of global warming problems.
The real problems are airflights.
The solution? Simple: Don’t travel long distance or chose Trains and Boats
The aviation industry is responsible for releasing approximately 0.55 billion tons of CO2 pollution annually; An amount that equates to about 2% of total global carbon emissions.
Air travel often involves longer distances than car travel and so produces more carbon
If you have to fly, consider buying carbon offsets to compensate for the emissions caused by the flight.
Members can offset flights when completing reward bookings online. They’ll gain credits that will be transferred to the Carbon Reduction Fund.
This is an initiative that encourages passengers to pay a voluntary surcharge for flights. The income from the surcharge finances green projects such as reforestation, renewable energy development, energy efficiency projects, and other initiatives designed to help to balance out the environmental impact of airborne journeys.
So do your homeworks
Choose the Most eco-friendly airlines:
Choose companies that follow efficiency rules
- Invest in design to promote maximum fuel-efficiency by minimal aerodynamic resistance. Boeing and Airbus are interested in working with British carrier easyJet to produce a new design that has garnered the nickname “ecoJet.”
- Virgin Atlantic Airways spend 1.5 billion to research clean fuel sources over the next ten years. The objective is to create engine that uses biofuels that can be used in commercial aircraft.
- Low-cost airline Flybe has made a 500 million investment in environmentally friendly Embraer 195 aircraft.
- Air One is the first airline to fly aircraft equipped with latest-generation, environment-friendly engines. The new CFM56-5B6/3 engines permit polluting emissions to be cut by 40% with respect to the current international standards
Follow these tips to reduce airflights pollution
- Reduce the number of bags you carry with you
- Book electronic tickets. It reduces paper waste.
- Have fewer, but longer holidays
- Fly directly to your destination
Strickly related
- Use alternative way to travel: Take the train or bus. You will reduce your emissions by 3-7 times over taking an airplane.
- Eat local fruits, vegetables and meat to experience true local cuisine. Not local foods require long distance airtravel transfers.
Sustainable tourism to reduce 5% global warming
- Go in Australia and feed Kangaroos. This could help in global warming
- Travel in family and don’t divorce!!
- Send e-cards instead of paper cards or make sure the ones you buy have recycled content material
- Use rechargeable batteries for cameras, flashlights, etc.
- Use a digital camera and be an environmentally friendly Photographer
- Buy local and fresh foods in bulk. You will save a trip and use less packaging. (You’ll help also local community economy)
- When cooking, use a Hobo Stove
- Choose to visit parks and nature reserves and support them by paing the ticket. You’ll support existing protected areas.
- Stay on trails during hikes, do not remove plants or feed animals, and never litter.
- Don’t take any corals, shells, dried fish, starfish, sea-fans and other marine souvenirs
- Do not anchor on reefs which can be easily damaged.
- Choose other ways to get around like trains, buses or bikes.
- If in a car or bus, encourage drivers to turn off their engines when they’re parked, or stuck in traffic.
- Take showers rather than baths.
- Limit energy use, including your use of air conditioning and hot water.
- Minimize your use of personal care products and detergents. Don’t flush cotton buds, condoms, tampons and plastics down the toilet.
- Say “No” to Bad Souvenirs (Don’t buy any products made from any endangered species)
- If your destination is a warm climate then close the drapes. This will keep the room cooler.
- Encourage your hotel or travel agent to promote and institute more environmentally friendly activities.
- Try to use glass bottles and aluminum cans as they are at least recyclable.
- Carry a water bottle and always check if there is somewhere to fill it up. Consider purifying your own water to avoid creating garbage.
Stay in environmentally friendly hotels (Eco lodge)
Follow the tips by Responsibletravel.com to verify if your eco-lodge is really an eco-lodge
- Search for a written policy regarding the environment and local people.
- Ask them how they measure their contribution to conservation and local communities.
- Verify how many local people they employ and in what position.
- Ask them what they have specifically done to help protect the environment and support conservation
- Ask them which local charities they work with.
- Ask them how they treat waste water and how they heat their building
- Select a hotel close to public transportation or near the places you are going to visit during your stay.
- See this list of Eco friendly b&b
Read more:
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