Ryan Stuart, explore's gear editor
Ryan Stuart's tell all blog spot on his gear addiction and life and times as explore magazine's gear editor
What is eco-travel?
I just finished listening to Jeffery Simpson, a columnist at The Globe and Mail, talk about eco-travel. He talked about how rampant green washing is becoming. This new term refers to companies telling us consumers they are doing "green" things but in reality they aren't. In other words they are playing on our green concious. This is a topic I'm keenly interested in.
Simpson defined eco-tourism as doing as little damage as possible to the natural systems. He talked about how the environment needs to be tied to economic conditions and vice versa. During his speach – he's a great talker for someone who writes for a living – he mentioned a recent poll that showed that people aren't likely to change certain behaviour without an economic incentive. It's definitely something I've noticed. I typically change my habits when there is either a cost saving (using energy saving light bulbs) or a cost to not doing it (driving less). And I consider myself a pretty environmentally minded person.
But as I listened to Simpson define eco-tourism, I think he missed a huge point. Eco doesn't end with the environment. It has to extend to the social realm too. How are employees treated? Does the company benefit the local community? Does it buy local? What does the company contribute to environmental stewardship? What about education and preservation of culture and history? It's all interconnected to the bigger picture - the footprint the company leaves on the earth – and that's what is going to matter if we want to tread more lightly.
Yeah, I mostly agree. The only thing I'd add: I don't actually need a financial incentive. I just have a threshold for the disincentive. Green almost always costs more, and there's only so much more I can pay in the short run.
I'll shell out extra money for some things, but I have a threshold where I can't pay the extra. I assume that tipping point is different for everyone. For me, I'll pay twice as much for a lightbulb, buy my own reusable bags (though everyone is giving it away now), pay a few more cents a litre if there were a better fuel option, and pay more for rechargable batteries, but I just can't buy a hybrid vehicle when a regular Honda Civic is all I would normally buy. I just can't afford that much green. On the flip side, I know a very (very) affluent businessman who was driving a Prius before most people knew what a hybrid was. He could afford to be that green.
Add your comment to “What is eco-travel?”
To post a comment, you must be logged in. If you do not have an account you can register now—it's free, and it takes only a few seconds. If you have an account, log in now.
Note: Neither the author nor Outdoorsica necessarily agree with the comments posted here. Read our privacy policy.