Would you be willing to change your holidays to minimize your carbon footprint?
Do you think that we need to stop traveling to save the planet? Should we all start carbon offsetting, i.e. compensating for our carbon output by being more ecological in other areas? Or is it too late to do anything?
Christmas is a time for getting together, and today this often means getting on a plane and traveling wherever our loved ones are. It is also a time of extravagance and spending, which leads to an increase in production. Does one ever think about the impact this increase of activity has on the environment? The Stockholm Environment Institute has, and last year it published some very relevant statistics: it converted the Christmas carbon consumption into Christmas puddings! Their conclusion was that over the three-day Christmas period, each person could produce on average 650kg2 of carbon dioxide, whihc is 5.5% of our annual carbon footprint, and the equivalent of 1000 Christmas puddings!
Your carbon footprint is the measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, especially climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.
Most people don’t realize how much flying affects our planet: one flight from London to Madrid uses up a quarter of the fossil fuel that one person can use in a year without affecting the planet. For example, aviation emits approximately 610 mega-tons of carbon each year, more than the world’s fourth-largest economy – the UK.
Tourism depends on energy guzzling jumbo jets, air-conditioned hotel complexes and pristine swimming pools, all of which are highly damaging to the environment. However, tourism is also a vital economic resource for many impoverished countries. It has also been proven to provide protection to fragile environments by creating economic value from preservation.
In addition to this, the rise of low cost airlines has considerably altered our approach to the world, many people enjoy the new horizons that have been opened up, and, faced with the possibility of a cheap weekend trip to an unknown country, will opt for new experiences rather than ecological conscience.
A survey by the European Commission this year, purporting to young people and science, showed that a large majority of Europeans under the age of 25 believe that the most effective solution to the greenhouse effect and to global warming would be a radical change in the European’s way of life. http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_239_en.pdf
So what is your view on this?
Do you think that we need to stop traveling to save the planet? Should we all start carbon offsetting, i.e. compensating for our carbon output by being more ecological in other areas? Or is it too late to do anything?
Background Reading
- Heloise Roc, La Grande Epoque, 16 November 2008, “Aurons-Nous Besion d’une Nouvelle Planete en 2030?”
- More about Carbon Footprint at http://www.carbonfootprint.com/index.html
- Stephanie Holmes, BBC News, 14 November 2007, “How to Make Tourism Greener?”
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People do not think that they are the ones causing all these problems.
The answer to this question is YES. Despite all the campaigns for the environment protection and great warming whose effects we can feel everyday people do not think that they are the ones causing all these problems and that they are the ones that will be affected by the consequences. Even with so many warnings coming from scientists people still do not understand that it is high time they did something about this problem. First of all they need to stop thinking just about themselves, their comfort and pleasure, but to give up on some of their habits like driving cars all the time and start using public transportation or walking more. Holidays are a good opportunity to travel somewhere or to see your family, but it is not an excuse to cause so much carbon-emission. It does not mean that you need to give up all your plans, but just to think a bit when choosing a mean by which you will reach your destination.
I realised the inconvenient truth: global warming is a LIE.
Al Gore is sued by 30,000 scientists for fraud! 900 of them have a PhD! Objections are lead by John Coleman, FOXnews weather man (http://www.kusi.com/about/bios/weather/1838191.html)
There is an overwhelming evidence now that the global warming is not a man-caused phenomenon.
I’m flying back home for Christmas. I paid 7eur extra for co2 emission quota. It was optional, thank god.
It was not until recently, that I realised the Inconvenient Truth: it is a LIE.
It is still not too late for action.
Climate change and energy sustainability are of great importance nowadays. Lately many European citizens are getting more informed about global warming, greenhouse emissions and recycling. However many of us still continue our lives without taking into consideration the environmental factor. The European Union is promoting a new common policy against carbon emissions in order to face the climatic challenges.
At this point, one can envision two things: a) To go back to time and change our habits when people used fewer cars, did not travel a lot and remained to their regions or b) To find new types of renewable resources and other measures to minimize the effects of climate change. Specifically, in cases where people live in the mainland and the access to other countries can be done through buses or trains, we could use hydrogen electric vehicles which are less threatening to the environment. However, in cases where people live across the sea and where plane transportation is important we could either limit flights with very few passengers or again use other types of energy. Certainly becoming more ecological is a crucial matter both due to the fact that we need to lessen carbon output and due to the fact that we need to save our planet.
I tend to believe that it is still not too late for action. But in order to do this we need to take small steps in all areas such as recycling, travelling, using friendly environmental products and so on. In fact we are all responsible for our planet earth and we need to become more sensitive towards it and more inventive towards energy sources.
A healthy environment contributes to further development of the global tourism
Personally I would say YES and consider my contribution not only toward environmental protection but also as a model example for my surrounding community. Many people consider an opportunity the holiday period to expand their touristic activities. Although tourism industry remains the one of the main economical growth of developing countries in the age of globalization, it is essential to understand that both tourism and globalization feed off each other. But it is also important to emphasize that a healthy environment contributes to further development of the global tourism.http://www.generation-europe.eu/community/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form
Globalization channels important information to each potential traveler on today’s environmental threats such as global warming and oil spills making more and more people look for alternative and sustainable travel solutions. I strongly believe that raising awareness campaigns and information to travelers would contribute to minimize carbon footprint globally.
Earth is our home, when we go back this Christmas our house will be nice and clean, why not do the same for the Earth??
It was a nice surprise for me to see in this month’s topic something that we seemed to have forgotten after all this economic turmoil which dominates the news every night. I remembered that in February everything I could hear in the news was the climate changing for the worse, the human impact on it, and means of positive response by us. And suddenly the climate ceased to be the priority, no headlines in the news, no politicians speaking about protecting the environment with the same passion. It makes you wonder sometimes, do the politicians really care about burning issues or do they just pretend, so they can actually have the sympathy of the public, and ultimately their vote?
Well, whichever the case it seems that this burning issue comes again to the surface, and as young people – as tomorrow’s active citizens of this world- as the future, we need to care about it the most. The most unbiased answer somebody will give to that question is “Obviously I care about the environment and I am prepared to protect it” or something equivalent. However, are we really prepared to do the upmost of what we can to protect our very own continuation?? In the opportunities the European Union provides for us most of us study or work away from our home country, and these days are our opportunity to see family, friends, feel the festive spirit with people we know. However, let’s think about our future, the older people think about the future of your children, and so this Christmas if you can try and minimize your negative impact to the environment, do it. Take a train instead of a plane, take the bus instead of taking the car, walk for short distances, Recycle the huge amount of waste such as wrapping paper etc. Simple things like that can have a huge positive impact
Earth is our home, when we go back this Christmas our house will be nice and clean, why not do the same for the Earth?? It is our future let all do the least we can to ensure that we do actually have a future.
Enjoy Christmas, and have a Happy 2009.
First of all let’s start saving our planet by avoiding unnecessary actions of wars, explosions and pollution of it, that brings no good
We always make choices; we give up something in order to get something else. And the question: would I stop traveling to save the planet – is very relevant to my recent experience of visiting Italy for two weeks. I took two airplanes and got in Rome, then traveled by train from Rome to Sicily and took the same way to get back to my country. I asked myself: did I ever give a thought to the fact that I have contributed to carbon output? I have not…
Before I got started with this article, I asked several of my friends around me, what they knew about carbon footprint?! Wow, none of them knew. Now I am thinking back to two weeks, when I saw in Rome, in the booming tourist center, hundreds and thousands of tourists whith cameras, who have traveled miles by hundreds of planes to get a glance on Colosseum, Spanish stairs and other sightseeing. And we all know that Italy is not the only attraction in Europe and on the world. This is scary…
So far, all choices made by human seems selfish and for our means of pleasure. I do think we all need to first of all think about carbon emission and then limit our travel plans, be more energy efficient at home, plant trees and take good care of it, thus start saving our planet for us and for our future. This plan seems reasonable, but 21st century is very tempting by its
developments, achievements and luxury and human brain is not able to resist it.
Although I am sure it is never too late to do something. First of all let’s start saving our planet by avoiding unnecessary actions of wars, explosions and pollution of it, that brings no good for human and neither for the planet. Let’s all of us start raising awareness about Carbon Footprint and let everyone know that we, together can save the world.