Global warming poses to be the most lethal threat to our planet today and is one of the most burning issues on the mind of any environmentalist around the globe. The harmful emissions and greenhouse gases being generated in humongous quantities on a daily basis is what damages the environment even further. Vehicles, airplanes, factories etc. are the culprits to be blamed for these emissions but they are an inevitable part of our lives post-industrialization and can’t be completely avoided. However, what irks most environmentalists is the amount of harmful gases emitted from flights that tourists take to globe trot. Tourism, according to them is an industry that contributes largely to the pollution around the world, hence adding to their woes and acting as a hindrance to their efforts to curb pollution.
This has inspired the travel enthusiasts to come up with a new and innovative reason to travel which is caring for nature and getting close to it. This kind of travel can be called eco-travel where the traveler makes the maximum effort on his part to reduce the amount of pollution generated by his traveling by opting for greener fuels which is offered by some airlines, staying at hotels which offer the most eco-friendly options and sightseeing the natural way too. As weird and far-fetched it sounds, it is being considered by those who want to travel to the exotic destinations though with a guilt free conscience of being eco-friendly. These eco-friendly travelers do make it a point to interact with the local cultures thus, in the process, preserving and saving many cultures which would otherwise become extinct leaving behind no records of their existence.
The hotels these travelers stay in are mostly located in the forests, staying true to their eco-friendliness and offer a variety of environment friendly features to attract environmentally conscious traveler. The bulbs and geysers are powered with solar energy and the food is cooked the traditional way on charcoal thus saving lots of precious fuels. The travel agents which take the tourists for sightseeing have also started cashing in on this trend by offering hiking and rappelling the traditional way thus not harming nature and being eco-friendly.
Helping the planet or not, these little eco-friendly steps are sure helping those in the business and also keeping the traveler busy by providing new reasons to travel the same destination again and that too guilt-free.
Via: nytimes
Comments
Thats a nice idea to be involved in the quest for a greener future. But how do we get to know which hotels or restaurants are more ”greener”? Anyway, at a personal level, we can at least abstain from throwing garbage here and there which most of habitually do.
eco-tours are becoming increasingly popular. even if we don not take part in eco tours,w e can always do our own bit as Jitaditya points out. throwing garbage in dustbins (or keeping them with u if u dont have access to one) might be a good start. not plucking leaves or flowers from trees isnt such a tough task right?