How tourism kills the global climate
According to Nature Climate Change, the impact of the tourism industry on global climate change is largely underestimated. This is because all factors were not taken into account in the analysis.
What is carbon dioxide dangerous?
One of the main factors influencing the global increase in average annual temperature is the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. And the most common greenhouse gas on the planet is carbon dioxide (СО2) It is involved in climate formation and contributes to global warming.
Most of it is produced without human intervention. For example, animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Natural mechanisms successfully cope with this volume, because it has been relatively unchanged for millennia.
But the man made his own adjustments. As a result of its activities, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions increased. Man does not only exhale it. To a greater extent emissions of CO2 produced by industrial enterprises and transport. It is also released when burning fuel, cooking, heating, etc.
The impact of tourism on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
It would seem, what does tourism have to do with it? But he has the most direct relation to this process. A tourist, going on vacation to another country, gets on a plane, on a train or a bus and leaves for the place of rest. It turns out that an increase in the flow of tourists leads to an increase in traffic. More fuel is burned, which means that carbon dioxide emissions increase.
The researchers calculated the number of flights, calculated the amount of fuel burned and the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
Upon reflection, they came to the conclusion that the data are incomplete. After all, tourists still eat, and cooking is the emission of CO2. They remembered the production of souvenirs and other tourist attributes, also added. Then they took into account the construction of tourist infrastructure in recreational areas, they added more. In general, everything was taken into account, even drunk alcohol, because its production and disposal of bottles were accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide. They even counted the photos that tourists make with their gadgets. Indeed, when generating electricity spent on charging smartphones and tablets, carbon dioxide was also emitted.
The result of the calculations was simply stunned. It turned out that the tourism industry accounts for about 8% of all anthropogenic emissions of CO2. This is quite an impressive volume, four times higher than previously calculated.
Of course, you should not treat this data with absolute confidence. For example, for a person who has come to rest, work is connected with constant traveling, and upon arriving at the resort, he allowed himself to spend a couple of weeks on the beach under the southern sun, thus, the emission of CO2 slightly decreased. As for cooking, he cooked something at home and ate something. And many ladies go on a diet before vacation, they cook and eat less, they emit less carbon dioxide. If a tourist takes pictures of his beloved against the backdrop of sea sunset or coastal palms, less energy is spent on this than on incessant calls on issues related to work.
And although the data are controversial, they provide food for thought. Is it worth it to fly on vacation to the other side of the world? Maybe it’s better to go somewhere to the nearest lake or to the forest? And for the environment is more useful, and not so expensive.
What is carbon dioxide dangerous?
One of the main factors influencing the global increase in average annual temperature is the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. And the most common greenhouse gas on the planet is carbon dioxide (СО2) It is involved in climate formation and contributes to global warming.
Most of it is produced without human intervention. For example, animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Natural mechanisms successfully cope with this volume, because it has been relatively unchanged for millennia.
But the man made his own adjustments. As a result of its activities, the amount of carbon dioxide emissions increased. Man does not only exhale it. To a greater extent emissions of CO2 produced by industrial enterprises and transport. It is also released when burning fuel, cooking, heating, etc.
The impact of tourism on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
It would seem, what does tourism have to do with it? But he has the most direct relation to this process. A tourist, going on vacation to another country, gets on a plane, on a train or a bus and leaves for the place of rest. It turns out that an increase in the flow of tourists leads to an increase in traffic. More fuel is burned, which means that carbon dioxide emissions increase.
The researchers calculated the number of flights, calculated the amount of fuel burned and the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
Upon reflection, they came to the conclusion that the data are incomplete. After all, tourists still eat, and cooking is the emission of CO2. They remembered the production of souvenirs and other tourist attributes, also added. Then they took into account the construction of tourist infrastructure in recreational areas, they added more. In general, everything was taken into account, even drunk alcohol, because its production and disposal of bottles were accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide. They even counted the photos that tourists make with their gadgets. Indeed, when generating electricity spent on charging smartphones and tablets, carbon dioxide was also emitted.
The result of the calculations was simply stunned. It turned out that the tourism industry accounts for about 8% of all anthropogenic emissions of CO2. This is quite an impressive volume, four times higher than previously calculated.
Of course, you should not treat this data with absolute confidence. For example, for a person who has come to rest, work is connected with constant traveling, and upon arriving at the resort, he allowed himself to spend a couple of weeks on the beach under the southern sun, thus, the emission of CO2 slightly decreased. As for cooking, he cooked something at home and ate something. And many ladies go on a diet before vacation, they cook and eat less, they emit less carbon dioxide. If a tourist takes pictures of his beloved against the backdrop of sea sunset or coastal palms, less energy is spent on this than on incessant calls on issues related to work.
And although the data are controversial, they provide food for thought. Is it worth it to fly on vacation to the other side of the world? Maybe it’s better to go somewhere to the nearest lake or to the forest? And for the environment is more useful, and not so expensive.
Information