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Green Travel

Did you know that the biggest environmental impact of your volunteer trip will be the flight! Aeroplanes travel in the sensitive upper atmosphere and release a cocktail of greenhouse gas emissions which are a contributor to global warming!!! 

Air travel currently accounts for 5% of total carbon emmissions, therefore at this level air travel would account for all the UK's carbon allowance - meaning that every single business and person in the UK would need to have zero emissions to meet our targets of reducing emissions by 20% on 1990 levels.

 

 

 

Budget and cheap flights

Cheap flights have transformed our ability to spend time away from home in foreign countries. The cost of flights to Paris, Barcelona and other European destinations have tumbled, opening up existing and new destinations. While the flight price wars continue tourists will be able to buy even cheaper flights.

 

 

Low cost and budget airlines

Low cost and budget airlines such as EasyJet and Ryan Air have rapidly established themselves as the place for budget flights, and challenged major national airlines such as British Airways, Virgin and Lufthansa to respond by cutting prices of their flights. People have become increasingly confident about booking cheap flights on the internet and have become their own travel agents. Before long it seems that the internet will be the only way to book flights as airlines strive to cut costs further. The budget airlines have also changed our travel habits - last minute flights have meant that many of are making more spontaneous choices.

The real cost of cheap flights

While cheap flights are wonderful for us, and do provide benefits to some new destinations, air travel is the fastest growing cause of global warming. As the cheap flight phenomenon grows air travel is projected to double in the next 20 years. Airline fuel is the only untaxed fuel in the world - so the airline indsutry is not paying the real cost of flights.

So what can I do?

There are 2 options, either you need to find another form(s) of transport or offset the emmissions your flight creates!

Other forms of transport

There are only 2 other types of transport that are practical for long international journeys, these are

Trains

Trains are very convient for travel overland.  They are very quick, easy to use and above all cheap!!!

Sailing

Why not join a crew?  Joining a sailing crew can be very good fun and actually quicker than you may think!  To travel across the atlantic from Europe to North America it generally takes 3 weeks!  Most ships will take complete novices, you will learn very quickly!

To find out more about crewing look at the websites below

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cruising Crew List Index

Crew Lists - Search for suitable boats

BoatersClassified.com

Crew Wanted - worldwide list of wanted crew

Yacht Captains






There you go, you can travel across the world for the fraction of the price of an air ticket!  But more importantly a miniscule of the emmisions! 

CO2 off-setting schemes

However if you are still planning on flying to your placement then why not pay into a carbon off-setting scheme?

Climate Care is an organisation which enables you, the traveller, to repair the damage that your air travel does to the climate. Your payment will fund projects that reduce emissions by the same amount as your share of the flight creates, making your flight climate neutral. Climate Care funds projects such as renewable energy and reforestation which either reduce emissions at source or absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

To calculate your flights emmisions click here

Also the amount of carbon released is greatest at takeoff and landing therefore
direct flights should also be bought as this will reduce emmissions substantially!

 

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