How to go green

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News > Life > Travel

How to go green

Tue Apr 22, 2008

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By Al Kirk
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It’s tough being an environmentalist with a travel bug.

I've vowed not to visit some parts the world because there is no environmentally responsible way of doing so.

Visiting the Galapagos Islands, for instance, is simply off my list. The constant crush of tourists has been slowly denigrating the ecosystems that Charles Darwin made famous. And while the government is floating so-called eco-tours to the Islands aboard cruise ships, the reality is that hundreds of people getting off a boat for a day trip and then leaving the island again at night is a seriously un-eco-friendly way of doing things. Local people will end up with even fewer tourist dollars and there are more chances for invasive species to be introduced onto the Islands.

But sometimes there are positive pro-environment choices that you can make when planning your next vacation -- and the biggest deciding factor in taking an environmentally-friendly vacation should be how you get there.

Passenger trains are the hands-down winner when it comes to traveling in an environmentally-responsible way -- so it's not surprising that a web =site dedicated to traveling the rails around the world has won The First Choice Responsible Tourism Award for 2006.

www.Seat61.com helps travelers plan trips that avoid air travel as much as possible. It also has a handy country-by-country guide to the best and the worst travel options on the rails. The not-for-profit site is the brainchild of Mark Smith who is constantly digging up new travel ideas from around the world.

Avoiding air travel is important because even the most fuel-efficient passenger jet spew a tremendous amount of greenhouse gases. Between 4 and 7 per cent of all greenhouse gas pollution can be attributed to aviation. But worse than just the percentages involved, high-altitude emissions from airplanes are responsible for triggering a series of chemical reactions that means that whatever is coming out of an airplane's tailpipe at 30,000 feet is probably two to four times more damaging to the environment as the same amount of emissions made on the ground.

Yet it's not all doom and gloom as far as air travel goes for the environment. The Airbus A310 is the first of a new generation of super fuel-efficient planes. The A310 super jumbo will carry 35 per cent more passengers than a 747 but will burn 12 per cent less fuel. Airbus claims that the A310 will be comparable to a twin economical family car. That's not much to brag about, but it's a vast improvement.

Even if you do decide to use air travel to get to another part of the world, investigate rail as a means of travel when you get to your destination. Most of the world outside of North America has extensive passenger rail service that is cheaper and more relaxing than any of the alternatives. And don’t forget to save both time and the cost of a hotel room by booking a bed on a sleeper train. It’s luxury that’s easy on the wallet and the environment.