The previous Doing Good Abroad posts have focused on what to do once you’ve arrived somewhere. But now I’m going to look at how you can do good on the way there, especially in terms of carbon footprints and the environment.
What is a carbon footprint?
Carbon footprint is a term that is used more and more frequently in the media. It refers to the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases that are produced during the use of a product or service. Airplanes produce huge quantities of carbon, and if you are concerned with your carbon footprint, you should take a look at how much you fly.
For a good way to get a grasp on how much carbon is being produced, enter the info for your past few trips into a carbon calculator. You can find some calculators here:
Remember when you are doing your calculations to factor in how you will be getting around once you arrive at your destination.
How can you reduce your footprint?
There are a number of ways to reduce your carbon footprint:
- Try to use public transport instead of renting a car.
- If you are renting a car, see if the rental company offers diesel cars.
- Walking around is a great way to learn about a location. If you are visiting a site and it is within 3 miles, why not walk there or see if you can rent bikes?
- If you are travelling domestically, look into taking trains or buses instead of flying.
- If you are staying a in a hotel, be conscientious of what you leave on. Just because you aren’t paying the electricity bill doesn’t mean you should leave the lights and air conditioning on when you’re out.
What is carbon offsetting?
You may have heard of carbon offsetting and seen it mentioned on a few travel sites. This involves calculating your carbon footprint and then buying ‘carbon offset’ credits from emission reduction projects. This offset then prevents an equal amount of carbon dioxide being created somewhere else in the world.
While the benefits of carbon offsetting may seem simple enough, it is a very controversial area for a number of reasons.
- It is very difficult to actually verify that your carbon footprint has actually been offset. Or if it has, for how long? For example if part of your offset credit goes towards planting new trees, what happens if those trees are burnt or destroyed?
- There is an ethical issue with carbon offsetting. George Monbiot, a British environmentalist and writer, compares carbon offsetting to buying forgiveness for sins, a practice from the Middle Ages. This comparison may seem severe but it has elements of truth. Instead of just travelling less or travelling more ethically, carbon offsetting is offered even though we are not sure of how much of an impact the offsetting is really making.
- Carbon offsetting does not encourage people to actively change how carbon is produced.
Whichever side of the debate you fall on, you can still implement the previously mentioned steps into your travel habits to help reduce your own carbon footprint, thus reducing pollution just a little bit.