Introduction
“Green Travelling” is a popular term nowadays, it is associated with such notions as “sustainable environment”, “ecotourism” and “responsible travelling”. A green traveler is the one who tries to save the natural environment and to minimize personal impact on the cultural treasures of the region where he/she is travelling. In this report, I am going to explore the question of the green travelling and research how green traveler I am comparing to other people who also consider themselves “green travelers”.
The purpose of this report is to establish a way in which travelers should practice environmental friendly trends, and come up with patterns of traveling. In patterns of traveling, walking over 18k distance takes about 30minutes, in which only six trips can be undertaken. If a bicycle is used, one covers a longer distance of 120kms in only 15 minutes for coverage of 12 trips.
If one decides to use a public service vehicle, individual owned cars and trains or by air, there is a tremendous difference in time taken and distance covered. Travelling by air proves to be the fastest method of traveling as 1600kms distance can be covered in only 45minutes, for two trips. The second fastest mode of traveling is by use of train followed by individual owned cars.
Nonetheless, the most environmental friendly mode of travel that is fast is a bicycle. (James & Bethany 34) Air emissions such as Carbon Dioxide only contribute lowly to high levels of air pollution. According to this data, a green traveler should prefer transport that is environmentally friendly, such as bicycle, or just walking. As a person who wants to be a green traveler, I prefer walking (for short-distance travelling) and bicycle for travelling around the town.
Method of data collection
Collection of data got done via the use of government statistics reports, such as National Travel Survey, and photos of the traffic situation in Paris, the U.K, among other large cities in the world. Data got collected in order to identify ways in which one may travel by use of transportation modes that are environmental friendly. The data got used in identification of trends that are sustainable in the cities, in reduction of air emissions which tend to be harmful in the environment (David, Michael and Caroline 68).
Data was collected from different travelers through use of survey method and comparing them to the personal results. Different questionnaires were used in order to come up with results of the mode of transportation. The number of people interviewed was five. All of them were from different localities.
These are; Paris, London, San Francisco, Tokyo and New York. The survey was carried out among persons aged between 21yrs to 30yrs. Information collected got through use of interviews where different questions were asked. For valid and instantaneous responses, a face to face interview had to be used.
The results had to be used in carrying out the survey on the mode of transportation that was friendly to the environment. The results concluded that if a friendly mode of transportation were used, such as the bicycle, time taken would be more than that of other faster modes of transportation.
Results
Discussion
The results retrieved from the interview differed when presented in comparison with results from data that was retrieved from the National Travel Survey in the year 2010. In rural areas, distance covered was relatively long over a short period.
Whereas, distance covered in London boroughs proved shorter, but, the time taken was too much, for only 84 trips could be made. Conclusively, the distance and time covered by the individual from London was similar to one where coverage was done in London boroughs of the National Travel Survey.
Reasons for individual pattern of travel depend on individual preference and time one has at hand. As indicated from the results conducted among five individuals, each chose their most suitable preference of transportation mode.
The person from San Francisco chose Air as the mode of transport since planes tend to be faster and in his belief, the carbon emissions are not inherently too much as opposed to using of other fast modes of transport (Buchanan and Horwitz 45). The person from Paris chose to use the train as the first preference. The forth individual from Tokyo preferred to use his car.
Nonetheless, out of this five people, only two are green travelers. I from London and the other individual from New York, who preferred to use a bicycle as their mode of transport. The result from this analysis shows that, despite the different individuals opting for modes of travel that were only emitting little amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, these were still contributing to air pollution and noise pollution.
According to the results provided by National Travel Survey 2010, the number of people using car and other private transport was much bigger than people who travel by bicycle or take walking tours. In addition, this number also outnumbers people who use public transport.
According to my personal results, these numbers has changed and nowadays, the number of green travelers has grown. As for my personal results, I also use car and public transport to travel long distances oftener than travelling on foot, or by bicycle. Thus, I cannot be considered as real green traveler. I addition, I often travel by plane, and according to the authors presented their results as cited in T172 Working with our environment, Theme 2, pp. 26–7:
“The growth in, and the environmental impacts of, air travel are emerging as a major environmental concern. In the last 20 years, air travel has grown at a remarkable pace, and this growth looks set to continue for some time to come”.
And thus, the results of the survey show that the number of people who join “green travelling” has grown since 2010.
Conclusion
As mentioned before, results retrieved from the interview differ when presented in comparison with results from data retrieved from the National Travel Survey in the year 2010. The key reasons for individual pattern of travel depend on individual preference and available time.
As indicated from the results conducted among five individuals, each chose their most suitable preference of transportation mode. Conclusively, out of this five people, only two are green travelers. As for mentioned, use of faster means of transport proves to be a source of pollution.
Recommendations
– For people to be more environmental friendly, persons from Paris, San Francisco and Tokyo should use modes of transport that do not emit carbon.
– The crisis to be solved in this case is, hence, to identify the mode of transport that is fast and at the same time environmental friendly.
– In order for the persons in Paris, Tokyo and San Francisco to practice environmental trends that are friendly, they have to accept other modes of transport that have no carbon emissions.
– They might use bicycle to travel for around the town or for long distances oftener than they usually do.
-This mode of transport may be used during vacations or day offs, for example.
– Air transport which contributes greatly to air pollution could be changed for trains.
Raising people’s consciousness and attracting their attention to the issues of air pollution, and contributing to the development of green travelling as a popular attraction may be very beneficial for reducing carbon footprints left by every individual.
Works Cited
Buchanan, Marisa, and Carl Horwitz “Pollution and Society”. The New York Times, 26 Aug. 2007: 45-78. Web.
David, Michael, and Caroline David. “Air Pollution Effects”. Environmental Problems/Air Pollution, Web.
James, Fleming, and Knorr Bethany. “History of the Clean Air, American”: Meteorological Society, Web.
“The Open University 2008”, T172 Working with our environment, Theme 2, pp. 26–7.