Offset Your Ferry Carbon Emissions
If you are heading to Europe this summer and have considered taking the ferry rather than flying then you’ll definitely be doing your bit for the environment. There are all sorts of facts and figures that can tell you just how environmentally friendly travelling on the ferry is in comparison to other modes of transport, but there’s one that best sums it all up – a family of four travelling to France via ferry causes just a quarter of the carbon emissions that the same family would should they have chosen to fly instead.
If you always travel on the ferry rather than flying or if you’ve chosen to go by sea to help out the environment then you should give yourself a pat on the back, but did you know that there are ways to offset your carbon emissions before you go and when you’ve arrived at your final destination as well?
If you’re camping or heading off in a caravan, for example, you can now actually purchase equipment that is more energy efficient than any old equipment you might have at home already. For example, you can purchase tents that are made of organic materials and are biodegradable as well as stoves and other similar camping gear that use a small amount of energy during use.
Any good camping store and some of the larger supermarkets often provide information as to which goods will help to offset your carbon emissions. The range of goods will blow your mind! You have food containers, cutlery, stoves, clothes, groundsheets, tents, low emission fire starters, batteries, lamps… The list goes on! It seems that there’s very little camping and holiday gear not available in the environmentally friendly variety!
When you arrive at your destination, you can plan your days out and activities in advance to ensure that you’re as environmentally friendly as possible. Small things like walking or taking public transport instead of using a car will reduce your carbon emissions. Staying in a green retreat, camping site or other accommodation that is near to the local facilities will help with this. After all, if you’re staying further away from the nearest town or facilities then there may not be public transport that’s as convenient as you’d like.
One of the best ways to offset carbon emissions is to choose a resort, camp or hotel that’s accredited as environmentally friendly. There are plenty of them about now thanks to all of the green awards that are available for businesses making an effort to offset carbon emissions and go green. Check out any awards that individual resorts might display to make sure that they’re legitimate. If they are then you’ve found a treasure that can help make your holiday well and truly green by offsetting carbon emissions!
Guest Article by Louise Crowley
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
