Can we balance travel and the environment?

Can we balance travel and the environment? -

with our desire is a challenge not only for us travelers traveling Land Conservation balancing but also for the towns we visit. When I was in the Galapagos Islands in March, I was stunned that the islands actually had real cities. I imagined the Galapagos as places people fly to take boat trips. It could be in some small cities simply filled with supply stores and science stations a few hotels. But this was not even is the case in the vicinity.

Instead, I found a place where 20,000 people live.

The cities on the islands, burdening not huge cities with skyscrapers, but they are large enough ecosystem. Cities are constant resource and waste problems. While in the city of Santa Cruz is a night view, I could not help but think about how much impact can travel on the environment. After all supported, as much of the city, the more than 0,000 tourists visiting the islands each year? How many fewer people would be there when the tourists were gone?

Back in my youth I was an environmental activist. My main problem was energy and I ran a nationwide reach initiative for the Sierra Club. We went to various organizations and cities, telling people how they can save money on their energy bills and save the environment at the same time.

But over the years I have become less conscious. I leave the lights on. I fly a lot. I drink out of plastic bottles. I eat a lot of meat. And I love fish, especially tuna. But last year I started to think harder about how travel affects on the environment and how to affect the environment. Here I have tried a lot more aware of being my actions.

However, in the wider context, I have come, that the journey is not to implement the most environmentally friendly activity. And though are responsible travel and environmental hot topics in recent years has become, for the most part, things have not changed much.

Take, for example, Thailand. The Asian tsunami was a great human tragedy, but if it was something good to come out of it, it was the fact that there was a country like Thailand a clean slate to rebuild. With everything wiped out, promised officials a new beginning. One end of the dirt, dirty beaches and dirty water. There was a lot of talk about how they would focus on sustainable tourism and how they would build within the limits of the environment and think long term.

But it never happened. Discussion was just talk. When the huge amount were considered on tourism dollars, has the long-term no role. It was was back on the road before. Now the area is built up even more than before. And the tourists never seemed to bother it.

Thailand is just one example, but it happens in numerous countries around the world. Sure, try many countries to protect their environment, but far many more do not.

I do not know if there is a simple solution to this problem. The most environmentally friendly activity is not to travel, but that is unrealistic and too extreme. The only good way is to make the people to be more environmentally conscious and make better decisions. There is so much money in traveling, I do not think the government and the regulation can do a lot. It's about the consumer. Only when their profits are hurt, hotels, operators and industry will begin as a whole to hear.

Consumers have a lot of power. Why does Wal-Mart only sustainable fish and whole milk for sale? Consumers wanted. I think if we as travelers begin to demand environmentally friendly practices and to prevent companies with poor environmental records, we can change things.

After all, most countries, especially those that are heavily reliant on tourism, offer for tourists. They bend over backwards that visitors have to make happy and safe. If the tourists enough demand, according to start something, they will get it. There is too much money at stake, the group of people in this money to ignore bring.

But for many of us to check our environmental awareness at the security gate seem when we board the plane. I used to also. But now I think - ".?. I visit all these places to visit for a reason why contribute to destruction, it is illogical," Well, I recycle more, I use less water bottles, I shut off the light, I pick up my trash and in national parks, I pick up even the garbage I behind the left side. I try to avoid big resorts. I do not drive. I take public transport. And I try to eat local food when I can. Most importantly, I use operators and stay in places that reduce their impact on the environment.

Traveling need not be environmentally destructive. Travel can destroy the environment, but it does not have. We have the power to make things better. We can do small things and more from the places we call stay and visit. We can and should demanding more places, and of ourselves.

Because once a place is gone, it's gone well.

. For more, here the CEO of one of the largest travel companies in the world is talking about how his company were treated sustainability

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