On social media there are those who proudly take stock of the many flights taken in a year, those who post photos with starfish and those who tell of that fantastic path in the mountains off the trails. On vacation we often fail to glimpse the extent of some of our apparently harmless choices. Yes, because going on vacation often also means not thinking, or at least not with the same intensity as everyday life. But, here, some of our behaviors produce effects on the planet that hosts us. And we really can no longer afford not to be aware of it, not to have asustainable attitude, even if we are on vacation.
The speech is quite simple: a small gesture multiplied by millions, billions, of people leaves a deep trace on the Earth. As insignificant as it may appear, we should always keep in mind that it can have a negative impact; both in space (how far can the cap of a bottle go that “falls” into the sea?) and in time (if it is not bioplastic, it takes decades before it “disappears”).
“Each of us has a continuous relationship with our planet, everything we do has an influence, as in the famous image of the butterfly beating that generates storms on the other side of the globe” observes the biologist and philosopher Maurizio Fieschi, one of the pioneers of ecological sensitivity in Italy. “We can enjoy the well-deserved carefree holidays, but this influence remains, indeed many times we move to even more sensitive areas or have even more influential behaviors. Sustainability does not go on vacation, we must consider it and behave with awareness ».
The impact on the environment of our holidays affects many different aspects. First of all the means of transport that we select to face the journey. Although for many the choice is still guided by criteria such as comfort, time, costs, more than 80% of travelers said they are attentive to the sustainability of their travels according to the sustainability report of Booking 2020.
“While remaining the only way to quickly travel long distances, such as those required by intercontinental travel, the plane is one of the vehicles with the highest emissions of greenhouse gases, for the same number of passengers” he explains. Elia Rillo, energy and nuclear engineer of Studio Fieschi. “For shorter routes it is necessary to consider the train, especially if powered by electricity coming, at least in part, from renewable sources”. This awareness is very clear to the French government, which has started the parliamentary path of a law that should ban domestic flights that can be tackled with a train journey of less than two and a half hours.
But a sustainable vacation doesn’t stop there. We can reduce our impact when we choose a sunscreen at the supermarket, when we are at the beach or when walking in a mountain forest, even by choosing one accommodation rather than another.
Understanding which ones are more virtuous is not always easy. There are companies that are starting to introduce elements of the circular economy: Centumbrie, for example, it combines the production of oil with a gastronomic offer and dream farmhouses surrounded by olive trees; here, here they have thought of transforming the hazelnut, the waste from the processing of olives, into pellets to feed the entire heating system. The Bertelli hotel in Madonna di Campiglio also has a biomass-fueled thermal power plant, one of the first in the tourism sector to have obtained the ISO 21401 certification, dedicated to hospitality businesses.
In the gallery at the beginning of the article, thanks to the biologists and engineers of Studio Fieschi, a reality that helps organizations and companies to embrace a more sustainable approach, we have collected some practical and simple tips to follow during our holidays. Because if we like to discover the planet that hosts us, we must also do everything possible to preserve it.
(Photo: unsplash.com).
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