We travel to distant and serene places in search of harmony, peace and contentment, but the environment is constantly losing its serendipity!
Reason?
Piles of plastic garbage bags, water bottles, and other types of waste choking up our oceans and burdening our hills! You will be surprised to know that India has the fourth-largest carbon footprint from tourism in the world. This is because of lack of awareness, concern and means.
Especially people who travel with kids or toddlers, end up generating a lot of waste. Changing diapers, getting them chips, colas, etc on the trip only harms nature as we end up littering. It is true that finding a trash bag everywhere is not that easy, but eco-friendly travel is not that difficult.
Here are a few easy tips that you can to make the world a little greener:
1. Bring your own water bottle or tumbler:
Travelling can be exhaustive and it is important to stay hydrated while you are on the go! While drinking water is fine, why do you need to purchase a new plastic bottle everywhere you go? Additionally, you can also carry a spillproof tumbler with yourself, and rather than getting your coffee in a disposable cup, you can get it filled! You can also count on The Better Home’s.
2. Pack light:
Wondering how your luggage size will impact the environment? Well, if your bag is lighter that means that the plane will fly a few kilos lighter and hence less consumption of fuel. Only put stuff that you will actually use and find eco-friendly alternates as well. You can also take a look at their baby-friendly repellant that is a good thing to have on a hike or trek, especially when they are young.
3. Save paper:
Billions of trees are cut worldwide to make paper, leading to deforestation, soil erosion and floods. Sadly, paper is still being used to make packaging, documentation and so on. If you want to travel green then do your bit by carrying a digital copy of your tickets and other essential documents.
4. Use public transport:
The air at hills hits different, right? Well, that’s because the air quality is pretty great there with no jam-packed road, full or smoke emitting vehicles polluting the air!
But alas! The increased number of tourist vehicles is leading to a decline in air quality. Taking public transport will limit fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Even when you are renting a car, go for a smaller model and when you are traveling locally, choose more eco-friendly modes of travel like a bicycle or be on foot! This will also be a great bonding activity with your kids.
5. Make your hotel your home:
Treat your hotel as your home - do not indulge in long showers and avoid getting clean towels when not necessary. Do not leave things running when not in use. As hotels tend to consume a lot of electricity, you can minimize the consumption by not misusing or taking unfair advantage of the resources, just because you paid for the room!
6. Respect the environment:
Last but not the least, wherever you go, teach your kids to respect nature. Wherever you go, do not litter or leave a trail of garbage bags, plastic packets, diaper bags, or bottles behind. Especially, in countries like India wherein littering is not an offense, it is important to imbibe such values from childhood.
Point is, just make the right choices today to grow and push your kids to follow your footsteps and help nature heal itself.