Love the Earth, Travel the World

Our good old Earth is getting sicker and sicker. And it doesn’t matter if you believe that or not – it’s a fact. Consider this: Since scientists began keeping records 130 years ago, nine of the 10 hottest years on record were in the 2000s. The year 2010 topped the list – that goes almost without saying.

Let’s face it, folks: We might have to start telling our children to get used to all the crazy weather.

Because Grandma Earth has a fever, and – here’s the shocker – it was us people, her offspring, who caused it.

Whether wittingly or not, and shoving the skeptics aside for now (if tomes of peer-reviewed scientific data can’t convince them, this article sure won’t), our activities, since the dawn of the industrial age, have made our world a worse place for our children to inherit and inhabit.

Our penchant for traveling, for seeing, tasting and experiencing the great unknown that is this world, too, I’m afraid, must take part of the blame. Even as we travel, we continue to contribute, among others, the greenhouse gases that are the main culprit of global warming. The travel industry has long acknowledged this, and there are numerous efforts underway to make our travels less burdensome for the environment.

But the travel industry only facilitates us; it wouldn’t have existed in the first place if we had eschewed mobility. This is human: We want to swim among the dazzling coral reefs of the Pacific, knowing full well that our very act of going there – which involves a gas-guzzling plane ride, at least – helps add to the rising temperature of the sea that will lead to the reefs’ demise.

An itinerant myself, I find it impossible to curb my intense desire to travel, so I’m not going to preach about staying put and becoming a recluse to help cure Earth’s problems. Instead, here are a few things – some of them are basic, actually – that we can do to be more eco-conscious during our travels. Doing these deeds will not make you an environmental saint, but at least your trip will be less injurious to our already-ailing Earth.

1. Pack less

They say all good things start at home. Same goes with eco-conscious travel. If you’re leaving for three, four days tops, don’t let your whole wardrobe migrate into your suitcase. Be sensible, and get used to wearing the same clothes for two days straight if you must. Streamline your bags: Don’t pack unnecessary stuff, because the heavier your bags get, the more energy is required to lug them around.

2. Do not litter

This one may be totally obvious, but I have known people who, when traveling, behave quite differently from when they’re at home. Those who’ve lived in Singapore for years come to Jakarta and start throwing rubbish around just to experience the sensation of not getting fined for it. Wherever you are, in Bombay or in Brussels, garbage is garbage, and it should be properly disposed of.

3. Travel longer, go slower

Businesspeople-in-a-hurry may not approve of this, but all you leisure travelers, make this your mantra. Our main contribution to global warming while traveling is the plane ride; jet planes burn more fuel on landing and taking off than while actually flying. The shorter and more frequent your plane rides, the more pressure you’re putting on the environment. And I bet it’ll come with the price of your not understanding much about the local culture of your destination.

4. Use public transportation

If you’re traveling on your own, chartering a boat or plane or renting a car is inefficient and definitely harsh on the wallet. It also, logically, places a heavy burden on Nature. So unless you’re in some place where you know the public transportation is dangerous or impossibly unreliable, take it wherever you can. Otherwise, hitchhike. Carpool. Charter a boat with some other travelers. Who knows, you might even make some friends along the way.

5. Take the train for long-haul trips

As anyone who’s visited China, India or Europe can testify, a train ride in itself can be a wonderful, even life-changing, experience – not to be missed while you’re traveling abroad. You take the long, sweet way, enjoying the scenery and immersing yourself in the local culture throughout the ride. Plus it’s less harmful to the environment: You can cut up to 90 percent of your personal CO₂ emissions if you travel by train instead of by plane.

6. Walk

Whenever you can, walk. This might be the slowest method of traveling – with exception of diabolical traffic jams – but it’s also the most ancient; it was how our ancestors roamed the Earth in the beginning. Walking was healthy for them then; it still is for us now. In small towns, let the locals be aware of your presence (but not too much) and let them excite you, thrill you with things you would never have imagined if you chose not to walk. Nature will thank you, too: The only CO₂ emissions come from your lungs.

7. Go local

Last on this list but certainly not the least: live locally. The moment we get away from home is the moment we should open up and let in new experiences. Hence, taste local dishes and insist on eating fresh food. Outside the megacities where everything is abundant, fresh food will more likely come from somewhere nearby and won’t be imported from thousands of kilometers away. By eating local food, and by opting for locally sourced products when buying stuff, not only are you being kind to nature, you are helping local economies grow too.

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