Green Articles by Eve Pearce

Enjoy Greener Holidays and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

An international trip is one of the highlights of the year for many, but travel is a huge contributor to greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions. Travelling greener doesn’t have to cost any more or be less convenient than standard travel. A little research before booking a holiday can dramatically reduce your carbon footprint.

The New Generation of Aeroplanes

Aeroplanes have become much more fuel efficient since the early days of commercial aviation. In the period between 1950 and 1997, air travel fuel efficiency improved by a staggering 70%. Technological advances mean further improvements are assured over the coming decades. As passengers become more conscious of the environmental impact of flying, and as oil prices continue to rise, airlines are keen to limit fuel consumption. As a general rule of thumb, the newer the plane, the more fuel efficient it is. Younger airlines tend to operate newer planes, so booking flights with a new company will often reduce your environmental impact. A quick Internet search of trade and travel publications will soon tell you which airlines have recently upgraded their fleets so older operators with brand new aircraft are also a good option.

Nobody likes to be cramped into a too-small seat on a long flight but the more passengers on board an aircraft, the less the carbon footprint of each individual. As much as you might dream of travelling everywhere by business class, you're actually doing the environment a favour by squeezing into economy. Most budget airlines will operate at 90% capacity at a minimum and fit as many seats as possible into cabins. It's easy to forget that any luggage you take on a plane adds to your overall fuel consumption, too. Travelling light will save you money on baggage costs and reduce your carbon footprint.

Go by Train

Train travel has long been marketed as the environmentally friendly alternative to flying or driving. Travelling by rail will only produce around one-third of the carbon dioxide emissions of a flight over the same distance. The advent of budget airlines may have made flying cheaper than travelling by train in some cases but going by rail can make the journey an enjoyable and relaxing part of your holiday. 

If it's not possible to reach your chosen holiday destination by rail from your home country, train travel can still be an excellent choice for getting around once you arrive. Rail travel is generally cheap and has much less impact on the environment than travelling by hire car or taxi.

Choose Greener Cruises

The cruise business is booming with enormous new liners being launched regularly to meet increasing consumer demand. With as many as 4,000 passengers and crew onboard the largest liners at any one time, a great deal of energy is needed. The major cruise companies have all taken steps in recent years to become more environmentally friendly and, in the future, cruises are likely to become one of the greenest ways to travel internationally. An additional benefit of cruise travel is that liners tend to visit numerous destinations meaning your holiday spending money can go directly into several local communities if you shop with local, independent businesses.

Many cruise liners have installed solar panels to generate some of their energy needs, with others using special heat-deflecting coatings on cabin windows to reduce the need for air-conditioning. Modern ships have become more aerodynamic in design and glide through the water much more smoothly than their predecessors. This advance in ship-building has helped decrease overall journey time and cut down on fuel consumption.  Most tour operators tend to widely promote any green initiatives they adopt so if cruising is your holiday of choice, it should be easy to find a liner with environmentally friendly features.

If All Else Fails, Offset

No mode of international travel is completely carbon neutral so, if you want to undo the environmental impact of your holiday, offsetting may be the answer. By calculating the carbon footprint of your holiday, you can then contribute towards a project that aims to reduce carbon emissions elsewhere by the same amount. The practice of carbon offsetting has become hugely popular in recent years with tourists keen to enjoy travelling whileminimising the impact on the environment. A large number of tour operators now offer travellers carbon offsetting plans when they book their trips. This instantly offsets any emissions the traveller’s journey will produce.

The most popular model of carbon offsetting is when the consumer or organisation makes a payment towards a project that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Renewable energy projects are commonly used by carbon offset organisations.

Green Articles by Evelyn Poulson

Carbon Use and Sustainable Living: Staying Neutral

The clear skies above Hawaii are a great place to observe the stars. They are also the place where readings of the current level of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere are recorded. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is rising, and is now well above what is deemed the maximum safe level. Ice core readings taken in Antarctica show relatively stable levels of CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere existed from the last ice age through to around the time of the start of the Industrial Revolution. Since then the levels have steadily increased, and, meanwhile, our need for energy, much of which leaves a carbon footprint behind, continues to increase.

See: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Mauna_Loa_Carbon_Dioxide-en.svg

Being Carbon Neutral

It can be a little daunting to see the level ticking upwards day by day, but it is important to remember that it is the little things that each and every one of us does that are likely to make the difference to our environment. Governments set the overarching framework of policy, and make decisions about what sources of energy generation are most viable and supply our needs most effectively, but when it comes to saving energy and, thereby, cutting down our own carbon footprint, the focus is very much on individuals, households and businesses.

European policy on the environment focuses on targets to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050 based on 1990 levels. Interim targets are needed if these long term targets are to be met, and these focus on how we use energy as well as how it is generated.

Energy, in terms of how we heat and power our homes, is, however, only part of the picture. Aviation and shipping set more specific challenges, and government policy indicates that additional reductions in other spheres are needed to offset the emissions from these areas.

In practice, cutting down how much energy we use is a good way to becoming carbon neutral, as is looking a little more closely at our role as consumers of goods and services. This can translate into practical action when, for example, we look more closely at the things we buy. Making new products generates huge quantities of excess material, be it scraps of leather from tanneries or fabric in clothing factories. Supporting those who retail upcycled items made from this type of excess material is a smart move as it also means you have stylish items that are not mass produced. Looking for ways to use less resources in the first instance, reuse whenever possible, and recycle also combine to make a difference to our carbon footprint.

Corporate Responsibility to be Green

As consumers of goods, and employees or employers we can influence how businesses approach their responsibilities to the environment. When it comes to choosing who we do business with, we are empowered to ‘vote with our feet’ and send the message to providers of goods and services that demonstrating a green approach needs to be an integral part of their marketing.

Transport accounts for a significant amount of carbon consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In areas such as haulage it makes economic sense to fine tune routes and delivery schedules to minimise use of fuel and, hence, emissions. Fleets which do the most they can to be green can enjoy a far better image, and this, in turn, is beneficial for sales of the products they carry.

Similarly, tourism enjoys a better image when it works closely with the communities visited and does its utmost to reduce emissions, cut down energy usage and aid conservation. Green tourism can help both the communities visited and local wildlife. Communities can also make clear the terms on which they are prepared to accept influxes of visitors.  A good example of the latter is Alaska’s Inside Passage - a popular cruise destination for ships touring Glacier Bay. Strict guidelines are in place for cruise ship operators who want to sail in Alaskan waters, and they need to demonstrate reduced levels of emissions and must have a permit to sail. Cruise lines can implement a range of measures to be greener, for example, fuel is saved by painting the hulls of ships with silicon so that they glide through the water more easily. Innovations like this, when used in any scale, can make such things as travelling on a cruise more environmentally friendly.

See: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Glacier_Bay_Cruise_Ship.jpg

Choosing carefully when it comes to things such as shopping and travel can help individuals and families maintain a carbon neutral status, whilst still enjoying exploring our beautiful planet.