Sustainable Travel

By Irene Millar

Making choices about sustainability is beginning to become part of our everyday lives and one of our favourite activities.  Travel is no exception. Travel brings a sense of adventure, fun and freedom, and by traveling sustainably we are enhancing the opportunity for us and our children to be able to continue enjoying this activity for years to come.

The journey towards sustainability and sustainable travel follows four guiding principles.  Over the next months we will explore how each of these principles is affected by travel and the choices we can make to travel more sustainably.  The four guiding principles state that nature is not systematically increasing the following:

• Concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust
• Concentrations of substances produced by society
• Degradation by physical means

and in a sustainable society:

• People are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.

So how do these relate to our everyday choices in the way that we travel?

In this issue, we will focus on the first principle:  “Nature is not systematically increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust.”  This principle refers to the extraction of coal, oil, minerals and metals from below the earth’s surface.  There are two main issues concerning this activity:   One is the environmental damage inflicted on the area  being mined, and the other is the resulting CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels are often referred to as “buried sunshine,” as they are the product of decayed plant life that developed by converting the sun’s energy into plant cells.  The decayed plant life that we now know as coal and oil lived millions of years ago, when there was a high concentration of CO2 in the air.  As a species, humans are now living off stored reserves of this buried sunshine.  This is the equivalent of paying your daily expenses from your savings account with no new deposits being made.  Over time you will reduce your savings to zero.  In addition to depleting these stored resources, we are also releasing the stored CO2 from these decayed plants back into our atmosphere when we burn coal and oil for fuel.  This leads directly to increased CO2 in the air and the concomitant increase in greenhouse gas effects.

So, as travelers, how can we behave more sustainably in relation to the mining and burning of fossil fuels?

We can reduce consumption, and save money at the same time, by being more consciously aware of our travel patterns.  For short distances, we should consider walking or cycling and look at the availability of public transport for longer distances.  We can maximise any car use by car-pooling and completing a number of activities in the same area to avoid repeated journeys.  Cars powered by alternative fuel sources are becoming more readily available in the market, and new technologies are being continuously developed in this area.

What is Your Carbon Footprint?

One’s carbon footprint is the direct effect your actions and lifestyle have on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. One of the biggest contributors to the carbon footprint is likely to be travel arrangements.  Offsetting the carbon you emit during your journeys is an easy, fun and inexpensive way to travel with a greener conscience.

Offsetting Your Emissions Through Tree Planting

Trees are green machines that act as natural filters of our air. Through the process of photosynthesis they absorb carbon dioxide (a key greenhouse gas and principal contributor to global warming) from the atmosphere and store it in their trunks, branches, leaves, roots, soil and foliage.  The photosynthetic cycle ends with the release of oxygen into the atmosphere.

When you want to travel more sustainably, consider offsetting your carbon emissions through a reputable carbon offset company such as Plant-A-Tree-Today (www.plant-a-tree-today.org)

Like travel, sustainable development is a journey, and carbon offsetting is good stepping stone towards being able to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and our current violation of the first guiding principle.◊

Irene Millar is the Co-Founder of Eco Leadership working with organisations and NGO’s to create a sustainable future. Please visit www.EcoLeadershipTraining.com or contact Irene@EcoLeadershipTraining.com to discuss how your organisation can become more sustainable.