Go by plane, train, or coach – not car or boat
Because of all the protests at Airports in the UK recently, many people have got the impression that haring all over the place by cruise liner or green hire car will somehow lower their emission in comparison to flying by plane. While it’s true that airliners don’t do our planet much good, well, neither does any other form of travel particularly, unless you wish to traipse around on a donkey like some ancient prophet. Trains are also fairly emission-low nowadays, what with there being more and more electric ones (and the electricity being generated by greener methods in keeping with the EU’s plan to lower carbon emissions drastically) – so there’s hope!
Only go to local restaurants with locally sourced ingredients – save food miles
You’ve often have to pay a bit more compared to if you just decided to waltz into the local McDonald’s and order a McBoring with Fries, but think of the variety, surprise (hopefully a surprise of the more pleasant variety) that you have coming to you with visiting local, family-run joints that use ingredients sourced from local farms. Not only will you have more fun this way but you’ll also be saving the planet too – most foreign chains use foreign ingredients which have been flown all over the place with planes belching CO2 in the manner of a baby after a meal. Just because you’ve flown yourself to a country doesn’t mean you have to take all your ingredients with you.
Don’t print out your holiday snaps
I don’t know the statistics but I’d hazard a guess that increasingly large numbers of photographs are taken on holiday in the aim of having for a keepsake and sweet little memories to remember but as is often in life, it’s best just to enjoy things as they happen rather than storing up a virtual data bank of every single little moment. But if you are an avid photographer, then save paper by only printing the very best shots out – there’s increasingly less and less need for hard copies as the human race shifts further and further into the digital age. You could also consider investing in a digital photo frame – there are now many low-cost models on the market, and although they’re distinctly gimmicky, you may find it a blessing in convenience.
Turn off and unplug everything before you leave home
Unexciting, yes, but you’d be surprised at how much energy the television and microwave use while on stand-by – there have even been calls in the last few years in the UK to ban the stand-by mode on devices, some take it so seriously. Also remember to turn off any radiators/air-conditioning but ask a friendly neighbour to come round shortly before you get back and power them on again, if it’s in the depths of winter or the pinnacle of summer. Uninteresting but useful.
Enjoy your (green) travels!
Photo of bike wheel and green grass by Vali…
8 responses to “How to have a real eco-friendly holiday”
Report an inappropriate commentApril 7th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Paul, What are you trying to say about aircraft? Surely four or five people in a sub 120g/km CO2 car is going to produce less CO2 than four or five flying? But its even more complicated as flying on Ryanair will produce a smaller footprint than with say Alitalia.
May I also add that keeping your water consumption down by taking short showers not long baths is important as we tend to use more water than at home. This is especially important in water stressed countries including Spain.
Keep your waste down, don’t buy items with excessive packaging.
Don’t wait until you leave. Try to keep the heating down in Winter and try to do without air conditioning in Summer.
Finally don’t go for large apartments or hotel rooms. They will consume more energy to light an heat than small compact accommodation.
April 7th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Actually not – you have to look at the figures. In simple terms, remember how many hundreds of people can fly on board an aircraft – and remember also the additional resources cars use up- tires, oil, wasted air conditioning, and of course, space of tarmac roads which could be used for woodland, or crops, etc.
April 8th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Pual, Thank you for the quick reply. Do you have a web link I can look up?
April 9th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
No problem:
http://gas2.org/2008/11/28/the-road-more-traveled-has-made-all-the-difference-driving-worse-than-flying-study-shows/
April 20th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
ah as long as i get a holiday i dont really mind if its green or not!!
July 9th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
we should always look for eco-friendly products out there to help the environment.*;-
September 6th, 2010 at 8:50 am
You left out SO many important tips D:
~Turn off your water heater, no one’s there to use the water anyways !
~When you reach your destination, take public transport instead of hiring a car or getting a taxi. That way, you get to know your surroundings better.
~Pack lighter to reduce your travel weight and also reduce your carbon footprint.
~Use a digital camera instead of an exposable camera, so it can be re-used.
Yeah, I’m bored now, so I’ll go finish my eco-tour assignment D:
Unless someone feels like doing it for me ?
November 26th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Some interesting tips there for green travel. I do like the eating in local restaurants with locally grown food. This also helps us to get in touch with the seasons and cycles of nature by eating and supporting locally grown produce.
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