Article 7: Climate-Friendly Vacations
by Prakash Bhave
Air Quality Research Scientist, Duke University
While growing up in the 1980s, the only times I remember getting on a plane were to visit relatives in India. Although my parents saved up every hour of leave for those months-long excursions, they didn’t feel like vacations at my age. We rarely did any sightseeing, unless you count seeing the Konkan temples. As I grew older and my parents had more expendable income, we took an occasional flight to attend the biannual Maharashtra Mandal convention or tour some faraway national parks. But throughout my childhood, most of our family outings were road trips and our accommodations were usually tent camping sites.
Fast forward 20 years. My wife and I had frequent flyer accounts on every domestic airline. We’d scan our email inboxes for cheap tickets each weekend, looking for any opportunity to visit friends and cousins in every corner of the country. Once a bargain was found, the only consideration was whether we could afford the time away from school or work. As we got older and our incomes grew, we expanded to international trips where we stayed in hotels and an Airbnb. We were oblivious to the environmental impact of our jet-setting lifestyle.
We now know that tourism contributes 8% of global carbon emissions and that the aviation industry is responsible for nearly 5% of climate change. We’ve also learned that a very small fraction of the global population travels by plane regularly so our air travel is having a disproportionately large
impact on the climate.
During the 3 years we lived in Nepal, we decimated our day-to-day carbon footprint compared to the suburban U.S. lifestyle we had been leading previously. But every time we got on an airplane, our family would emit several tons of CO 2 to the atmosphere.
Since returning to the U.S. in 2017, we have gone on an international travel diet. We embraced road trips, restricting most of our travel to North Carolina and the surrounding states. One of our most memorable family vacations was in Vermont, where we rented bicycles for our family of five and toured the area for twelve days without burning any fossil fuels.
In this workshop, we’ll discuss different ways to reduce the climate impact of your family vacations. In cases when air travel is the only option, we’ll review expert tips to ensure that your itinerary is emitting as little carbon as possible. In addition, we’ll touch on some carbon offset programs that might be used to balance out the impact your travel and tourism is having on the environment.
References
- Carbon footprint of tourism. https://sustainabletravel.org/issues/carbon-footprint-tourism/
- ICAO carbon emissions calculator – the official UN tool to quantify air travel CO2 footprint. https://www.icao.int/ENVIRONMENTAL-PROTECTION/CarbonOffset/
- Should we give up flying for the sake of the climate? https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200218-climate-change-how-to-cut-your-carbon-emissions-when-flying
- 2021 CSK Mentorship Workshop #5: Climate Change and Sustainability, https://youtu.be/1064mGb-eHo?t=1805
- Should you buy carbon offsets for your air travel? https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/should-you-buy-carbon-offsets-for-your-air-travel
Action to Implement
Post your reflections & observations in the comments section below ⬇️
🌱 July 2022: This month, take a closer look at your travel impacts:
🔢 Estimate the carbon emissions of your mode of travel, lodging, food, and purchases
🙋🏻♀️ Commit to making one change to reduce your carbon footprint
Past Months Action to Implement
🌱 June 2022: This month, take a closer look and identify your food waste as:
🍌 food prep scraps
🍽️ plate waste (unfinished food)
🤦🏻♀️spoiled or unwanted foo
🌱 May 2022: Implement the following actions.
- Reduce food Packaging.
- Learn about local and seasonal foods.
- Support a local grower & shop at Farmer’s Markets.
🌱 April 2022: Sahasra Vrksha Sankalpa – As a CommUnity, bring your heart and hands to the ground to plant 1000 trees together. Track and share here.
🌱 March 2022: Contribute to the health of our planet and the health of beings by doing the following:
Each day take inventory of what goes in the trash.
Identify the most common item.
Find an alternative that eliminates this waste.
🌱 February 2022: Implement the following and encourage others to follow:
- Unplug chargers when not in use
- Use the ‘Energy Saver’ mode on phones & laptops
- Use cold water for laundry & line dry
🌱 January 2022: Identify 3 actions you do that help the environment and 3 actions that harm it
July PS Workshop
CommUnity Reflections
It had been my observation that in response to any significant “crisis” or “problem”, people often say,
“Well, what can I do? I’m only one person. This is a global/systemic/unwieldy issue.”
But of course, we as individuals, are the system. As one racial justice advocate, Rhonda Magee, whom I heard speak at a conference, stated,
“The system is within us and we are within the system”.
I return to this quote often.
I am reminded in reading this article, that of course we as individuals can and should, contribute toward slowing climate change. In fact, as those who have contributed to the problem in the first place, it is imperative that we start to ask how we unravel and unwind this problem, no matter how complex or wicked it may seem.
I’m grateful to the author for their honest reflections and for ideas on how to move forward.
Our family of four has taken much pleasure this Summer and last, in exploring various local cycling and walking trails. I’ve reflected often on how lucky we are to have ready access to nature and green space – a privilege many marginalized communities do not enjoy. Furthermore, being in nature is a constant reminder of the importance, sacredness and absolute necessity of our Dharti Mata. I will strive to do better by her.
~Saroo Sharda