So let's be honest: Who doesn't like traveling? Seeing a new place on a land far away has been fantasized by humans for centuries. Now with access to pretty much every corner of this planet, people are traveling more than ever, some for the soul and some for Instagram. Either way, what most of us travelers don't pay attention to while traveling is our impact on the environment.
Pangong Lake, July 2018
Let's see what are the major contributors to our footprint on the environment when we travel:
1. Flights
So obviously in a lot of cases while traveling, not flying is not an option. BUT, I happen to know a lot of people who would take these 30-45 minute flights on their regular travel vacations for convenience purposes only and not urgency. While business travel is the leading cause of carbon emissions from flying, we all can help by not creating a skyrocketing demand for more flights. The weight of your luggage also determines the emissions from a plane. HEAVIER PLANES = MORE CARBON EMISSIONS. So pack light and avoid taking unnecessary items. Try to FLY DIRECT when you can. And if it's not absolutely required, try taking the ROAD. The best views aren't always from the air.
2. Personal travel
It's understandable why you would want to take an Uber or a taxi to get to places, especially in a new place where you haven't figured out public transport yet. But not only is the pubic transport CHEAPER but also more ECO-FRIENDLY than renting a car/hiring a taxi. Almost all cities and National Parks (at least in North America and Europe) have a well-established public transit system that we all can take advantage of and save some money while offsetting some carbon.
3. Plastics
Need I say more than the word itself? Our oceans will soon have more plastics in them than fish. According to some studies, only 10% of plastic is recycled around the world with the exception of some European countries. On my travels, I see people buying single-use plastics in the form of plastic bottles, grocery bags (FYI they are NOT supposed to be single-use) and all kinds of bars and chips. Most of this is either thrown on the ground left for the plastic fairy to clean up or ends up in non-recycling trash that eventually ends up in the oceans or gets burnt again, leading to carbon emission. The solution? AVOID PLASTIC or at least SINGLE-USE PLASTIC. Pack up your food in aluminum containers or re-usable plastic bags/containers. Carry a re-usable water bottle with you at all times. Awareness is the only way to save the planet from plastic pollution.
4. Purchases
Adding on to plastic purchases, I'd like yo introduce you to the concept of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). It basically talks about the impact of a product from the raw material stage to the end of life stage. A lot of this impact also comes from transporting the materials/products from one place to another. So what can be done? BUY LOCAL. Whether it is beer or eatables, local purchasing helps the local economy and reduces your impact on the environment.
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