Green Transport Week 2011 | Holiday and Travel

Try to find alternatives to flying
In Britain, aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of climate changing gases. If air travel grows at current rate it’ll become the biggest source of CO2 pollution by 2040.
Emissions from aircraft are especially problematic because of the height at which they are emitted and the particularly noxious mix of gases, making them 2.7 times more damaging than the effect of their carbon dioxide alone.
When you buy holiday insurance the ETA you help fund low-carbon projects in the developing world.
Training it
Travelling by train is far less stressful and more civilised way of travelling. No lengthy check ins, freedom to walk around and plenty of leg room. Country to popular belief most corners of the world are now reachable by train. Websites such as the The man in seat 61 contain all the information you need to plan your world travels by train.
Don’t hire a car
There are plenty of other ways to explore you holiday destination; you could hire a bike which will let you see much more, than you would trying to drive and navigate your you way round an unknown place. By using public transport you will discovers more about the people and the culture you are visiting. If you do need to hire a car to go on long journeys only hire it for time you need it so you are not tempted to use it for unnecessary journeys.
Minimise then offset CO2
You should plan your travels so your create the minimum amount of CO2 emissions. For the carbon that is created you should offset using a gold standard offset programme. Click here to calculate your carbon emissions and purchase carbon offsets.
Local conservation
When you are away try and find out if there is any local conservation projects you can get involved in. it’s a great way to put something back into the community you are visiting, as well as being able to discover local wildlife and spend quality time with the local people.
Batteries
Many countries won’t have the facilities to recycle batteries so use a solar-powered battery charger like the 17165 Freeloader AA/AAA Charger available at the ETA shop
Buy local produce and gifts
As you should at home, try to only buy locally sourced produce and gifts, firstly you will be supporting local producers and cutting down the CO2 emissions created from transporting goods from other parts of the world
Don’t waste
Try to only use the electricity and water that you need, many countries don’t have great supply of either, so repect your host community and use sparingly.
Plastic bags
As you should at home, take shopping bags out with you so you don’t need to use plastic bags, or they’ll end up in land fill or worse could end up harming local nature and wild life.