If you are as concerned as I am about making more eco-friendly decisions in your life and are planning a trip to somewhere like Australia, you will undoubtedly be interested in how to reduce your carbon footprint while travelling. In the following article you will find some of the most helpful tips and advice I have gathered over the years that can help you save money and save the environment while having a great holiday.
Choose a Flight Itinerary That’s Eco-Friendly
A huge percentage of the greenhouse gas emissions found in the atmosphere are a result of air travel. The biggest contributors are long distance flights that take long winded routes. If it is possible, you should always try to get direct flights, and when you can – avoid flying completely.
Find the Most Central Accommodation
If you are looking for somewhere to stay in the city you are visiting, it is a good idea to try and find the most centrally located hotel that you can. By doing this you will cut out the cost of travelling expenses when you want to visit places round a city. When you do have to, opt for the greenest option, which could also be much cheaper as well. Travelling by bus is kinder to the environment and kinder to your wallet for example than say cabbing everywhere.
Avoid Night Flights
When you have to fly to a destination, you may be able to reduce your impact on the environment a little by flying during the day instead of at night. It is claimed by reputable scientists that the contrails caused by an aircraft have more of a warming effect during night-time, because they trap the heat and do not reflect any of the sun’s rays back into the atmosphere.
Try To Use the Toilet Before You Get In the Air
Disregarding any other issues you may have, always try to go to the toilet at the airport or at home before you board the plane. Apparently, the energy used by one single flush on a plane’s toilet, enhanced by the altitude, is enough energy to run a fairly economical car for up to 10km.
There you have it folks, some tips and advice for making your travelling and holidays that little bit more eco-friendly, that are for the most part, easy to put into practice. Every time you do one of these things, you should be very proud of yourself because you have really taken the environment and our beautiful planet into consideration. It would be much easier to just take the easier option opposed to doing any of the above, but then you would also be participating in the ruination of the local and global environment.
Although many of the things listed above are easy to do in theory, they might be different to what you are used to doing. I always remember something my mum used to tell me – the things that are worth doing in life are never going to be the easiest to do.
