Transition Island Blog

Big cats protected in Kenya’s Maasai Mara game reserve are threatened by a fall in tourism.

Tourists have stayed away mainly because of the violence which followed last year’s disputed election.

But in time, rising fuel costs will reduce holiday flights, and income from richer countries will drop, leaving many endangered species with less protection.

Loss of compensation schemes could force local people to kill lions and leopards in order to protect livestock. There are also risks from locals hunting protected animals for meat as the food crisis worsens.

taking flight?

With cheap flights, international travel is in a boom era. But things are changing.

The German people have begun to stay at home for holidays, for the environment’s sake.

Ever since their postwar boom, Germans have been avid international travelers. But surveys last year showed that people are choosing to visit closer destinations.

Many commentators have pointed out that cheap flights have led to absurdities. Taxi ride to airports in most European cities now cost considerably more than flights to popular destinations.

“In many circles it will no longer be chic in a couple of years to pollute the environment with tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) while on holiday,” said Martin Buck, director of Berlin’s International Tourist Bourse.

Now the Brits are following suit. Nearly half of the country’s public have decided to fly less in the coming year to help the environment.

An exclusive poll for The Times shows that 46 per cent of consumers have pledged to cut air travel while 23 per cent will fly only with those airlines that have a clear green strategy.

More than three quarters - 81 per cent - feel that airlines still are not doing enough to tackle social and environmental issues. Virgin remains the most popular because it started taking action on CO2 issues first.

airline troubles

Adding to this is the , declaring bankruptcy or completely shutting down. So far the losses have been mostly of small airlines, but many of the large ones have started to thrash around for merger partners. At $3.71 a gallon, jet fuel is now the single largest expense an airline faces.

Airlines are continuing to raise fares - the average ticket is up 10 percent over last year - but at some price point the airlines will drive away discretionary travel and they will be left with only essential business and personal travel that is unlikely to fill many planes. On top of the fuel prices is the current economic downturn which is likely to start impacting discretionary travel before the year is out. In short, airplanes simply can’t make money while charging affordable fares at current, much less prospective, fuel prices. The era of 500 mph travel for most people is nearly over. [Read more]

Perverse consequences

Reducing carbon footprints by flying less is a good thing (except for airline employees who’s jobs are under threat).

Leaving endangered species without cash for their protection schemes is an unintended side-effect.

Opinion:
As we progress further into Climate Change and Peak Oil, we are sure to encounter more perverse consequences. Unintended they may be, but we still have a responsibility to work with them for the good of the Planet - which includes species other than the selfish dominant one.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Eco-News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.