A reader named Darren commented on my Travel Preparation post from a few days ago:
"Interesting blog post, I was wondering what your opinion on the environment and travellers taking more responsibility by travelling light?"
Excellent point, thank you for the comment. Aside from just not wanting to deal with the hassles of lugging around a bag, you've pointed out a growing trend in both travel and social-consciousness. 1o years ago, few travelers would even bother to consider the impact of their carbon footprint in correlation to what they pack. Consider the following:
- The more you pack, the heavier your bag is and the more jet fuel will be burned to accommodate excess weight. There's a reason airlines charge you more for extra baggage. 1) They can get away with it and make more revenue 2) They need to accommodate for the extra cost of fuel.
- The more 'stuff' you have to haul around means you will burn more energy and hence utilize more resources. Consider this: If you have heavy baggage, you're more likely to need a cab or private car and burn more fuel. If you pack light, it's much easier to travel via public transportation thus burn less carbon. Not to mention you'll be burning more of your own energy and thus eating more, turning up the air conditioning because you're hot from a long day of hauling around your things, not to mention needing more water and detergent to wash the clothes you've brought with you.
- The heavier your bag is, the more likely it is to wear out sooner. Packing light automatically elongates the life of your baggage, which means you're contributing to less consumer waste.
- Traveling light is more than just functionality, but a philosophy. The less 'stuff' you have, the less you're contributing to consumerism and its packaging waste. You're also subjecting the places you're visiting to the waste you brought with you. Remember that you are a guest in someone else's country, city, or island. Consider the state parks you've visited in your lifetime, I'm sure many have required that you leave with everything you brought to respect the land.
- Don't forget to recycle. Recycle your cardboard, glass, aluminum cans, etc. -- but also recycle creatively. Whenever my husband and I leave a city, we always offer up our bus passes, maps, tickets, and any other useful goods to tourists entering the train station or airport. They're always very thankful, if not surprised, and it's a great way to keep down paper and waste consumption.
Watch some videos on global warming and travel...
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