Summer again at last! Although she retired a long time ago, Granny Trude still enjoys “holidaying at home” and cycling over to her local lake every day in summer. But as an ardent environmentalist, she’s still concerned about climate change and our carbon footprints: Are wanderlust and sustainability compatible in our day and age?
My Dears,Summer, sun, lake – I'm in my element! As you know, I love summer! I find it so relaxing. Whenever the weather’s nice, I ride my bike down to the lake and spend the day gazing out over the water or at the surrounding greenery and reading one whodunnit after another. A perfect way to “chill”, as the youngsters say! Did you know that just looking at nature has a calming effect? That’s a scientifically proven fact! Here by the lake, it's just like being on holiday: I feel utterly rested and tranquil. Though I’m well aware that, being retired, I’ve got a much more stress-free situation than, say, people working full-time jobs.
Wanderlust
Lots of folks are just dying to travel now after having to stay put for so long due to the pandemic – at least that’s my impression. After being stuck in Germany or, at most, holidaymaking in nearby European countries when restrictions were lifted, many people seem eager to fly off to far-off places – even though the pandemic isn’t over by any means. Nonetheless, they’re dead set on going as far away as possible – and by plane. Some of my friends actually fly all the way to the USA or Canada for their summer vacation. How come – especially with rising fuel prices these days? Is it even justifiable?First choice: reduce your footprint. Second choice: carbon offsets
In principle, I do understand: people want to show their kids the big, wide world – if they can afford it. Not for nothing do we say that “travel broadens the mind”. But you can’t buy a plane ticket nowadays without pangs of conscience. Those days are over, protecting the climate comes first now.Fortunately, you can pay to offset your plane’s CO2 emissions. Once again, it’s better than nothing, even if critics of the scheme liken it to the “selling of indulgences to ease a guilty conscience”. Needless to say, it’s better not to take the plane and emit more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in the first place than to make financial amends afterwards by supporting environmental projects.
Where can I make an offset payment?
But if you do fly and want to offset your carbon emissions, there are a whole bunch of certified organizations you can support to make sure environmental projects actually benefit from your flight. You’ll be doing basically the same thing as the nations that have signed up to the Kyoto Protocol.The German consumer magazine Finanztest recommends the following organizations in particular:
- Atmosfair
- The church-run carbon offset fund Klima-Kollekte
- MyClimate
- Primaklima
80 per cent less wood consumption
It’s probably best for the money to go to environmental projects in developing countries that have less resources to spare than the signatories to the Kyoto Protocol.Here’s an interesting example: In Nigeria, offset funds can be used to lower the cost of energy-efficient woodstoves. I read about that on atmosfair.de, so let me elaborate – it’s really quite exciting! Roughly three-quarters of Nigerian families cook their food on an open hearth, which involves burning a lot of costly wood: a family of seven, for example, consumes five tonnes of wood a year, which actually costs them ten times as much as their food. Here in Europe, by contrast, the ratio of energy to food costs is one to one. Not only does this mean financial ruin for many families, but deforestation causes desertification, which ultimately affects everyone on the planet.
According to Atmosfair, these efficient cookstoves use about 80 per cent less wood. That’s a huge difference! In addition to subsidizing the purchase of these stoves, Atmosfair does outreach work, including local demonstrations to convince people to use them. Another point in their favour is that these stoves burn more cleanly, which is better for people’s health. I, for one, am entirely convinced!
Hotel footprints
If you don't want to fly far away with carbon offsets, there are other ways to do good whilst traveling on holiday. It’s a shame that low-footprint vacations aren’t always the cheapest – unless you decide to go by bike and/or train and camp out, which I highly recommend!Green seal
More and more holidaymakers check a hotel’s carbon footprint before booking. The “GreenSign” seal recommended by the German Environment Agency can be helpful here. It rates hotels based on the following criteria:
- Management and communication
- Environment (energy, water and waste)
- Purchasing policies
- Regionality
- Quality management and sustainable development
- Social and economic responsibility
Another interesting label is “Viabono”, which rates environment- and climate-friendly travel according to similar criteria. It covers youth accommodations and campsites, too.
Sustainable travel: room for improvement
But getting to your sustainable hotel is another issue, especially since access by bus or train is often limited, to put it mildly. But some progress is being made there, too. I happened upon one example of a discount for train travellers in the Bavarian Forest if they want to hire an e-car for greater flexibility on their trip.So, have I put you in the holidaymaking mood? You've probably already made your summer travel plans a long time ago, you might even be on your way back already. In any case, it never hurts to give some thought to sustainable travel all year round.
After all my research into sustainable travel, I still prefer cycling over to my beloved local lake. Holidaying at home can also be very nice – and relaxing!
Yours basking in the lakeside sunshine,
Granny Trude
July 2022