Flying three times greener then cruising

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Title – Flying three times greener then cruising
Source – Telegraph Travel
Date – 19th January 2008

Global warming is truly the challenge for the world, how do we continue to progress our economies without damaging the planet further? How do we continue to enjoy the fruits of our hard work by taking holidays or travelling and yet prevent further damage to our planet?

These are going to be the challenges of our generation and the challenges for which we have to find the solutions, because the consequences are unimaginable. But the question is, how we do this most effectively and the time has come for the opposing factions to put down their weapons of rhetoric and present the facts.

Currently news headlines convince us that the answer is for us to turn off our TV at night, to stop flying and to recycle the odd bottle here and there. We championed biofuels, just to discover that it is preventing the poor from accessing food as the cost rise. There does seem to be a new solution followed by a new problem day after day and who do we really believe. Industry is trying desperately to protect it’s profit margins for shareholders, governments are trying to protect business in order to retain power and some campaign groups are using scare tactics in their desperate attempt to maintain awareness. We the public just want to hear the balanced view, it is simply too important a subject to be used as a political ping pong ball.

We all have our part to play and we know that there are solutions out there, we see wind farms approved and never built, we see one side of nuclear arguments presented, we see world leaders fly in private jets around the world and tell us not to fly and we hear big business tell us how green they are by placing a solar panel on the roof of their head quarters on the one hand, while they pump tonnes of CO2 into our atmosphere with the other.

These are the big challenges we face, to convince our politicians it really is time for change, time to stop talking and start acting and we tell them we are willing to pay the short term price for the long term gain. To achieve this we have to be proactive and we all have to put pressure on those people we elect across the world to start to listen to what we the majority want. As well as this we have to lead by example, it’s really a bit of a role reversal, but might be the only way. We all know the little things we can do in our own lives to reduce or CO2 emissions or carbon footprint, this does not mean changing fundamentally the way we live, it does not mean cancelling holidays, it means seeking out the services we want not just based on the traditional criteria, but on how they will affect the our carbon foot print. Where the footprint is large we should look to reduce it, where we can not reduce it, we should look to offset it. Never think you alone in this, if your neighbour doesn’t do it, it does not mean it is pointless and does not mean you are alone and can’t make a difference. Every time you turn off the light (whatever type of light bulb you use) you are making a difference.

So should you go on a cruise? If that is what you have worked all year or for ten years towards then yes, go and enjoy it. But think a bit about which company you go with for more reasons than just the glossy brochure, take a little time and research how much of an environmental impact they have and how you can off-set that impact before you go and once you return. Because if we all choose services and companies based on more than just price, glossy brochure and convenience and consider 'green' criteria more importantly, then companies will start to really compete to be 'greener' that others, will invest in 'greener' technology. They will also invest in the people that were clever enough to put a man on the moon or develop antibiotics and give them the funding to find the solutions to this latest man made problem. But it has to happen today, not tomorrow.

Responsible and Ethical Travel is important and travel has a big impact not just on the environment, but on the people whose country you are visiting, we believe it can be a positive one and we know our workshop can help you achieve this.



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