Oil – A backpacker’s best friend

Author: Matt Preston Become a contributor

Here’s a notion that most travelers won’t want to hear. Travel addicts are addicted to oil. Let’s face it 99% of our travels rely on the black sticky liquid. Without it there would be no fuel for planes, buses, Tuk Tuks and trains. While there are many other modes of transport that don’t require oil to propel us to our destination there is no denying the close affinity between backpackers and BP, between Exxon and adventure travel.

The recent oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico highlighted our human need for oil and it’s dramatic effect on the environment. Thousands of gallons spewing into the ocean every day causing devastation to marine and coastal wildlife. But as we watch on the news from our cozy hostel somewhere in the world we often take for granted the fact that we have chosen to take time out from routine life to consume more oil through travel than ever before.

So what can we do?

How can you reduce your oil consumption while travelling the world? Seems a bit of a contradiction. One option is to change your itinerary to suit more environmentally friendly forms of transport. Cycling is a great option and many do invest in a good bicycle and tour the countryside especially in Europe. This may seem extreme to some people but there are easier ways to reduce your oil consumption while seeing the world.

Trains, planes and automobiles

Trains can often be a great way to see a country and have the potential to be a much more efficient mode of transport than cars and planes.  The electrification of many railways also means the fuel source is abstracted. Electric trains in Europe are powered by a combination of wind, solar, nuclear, gas, coal and yes our good old friend oil. In a recent test it was concluded that trains can emit up to 10 times less CO₂, per passenger than planes.

Planes

It’s hard to ignore that planes drink a massive amount of oil in the form of Kerosene. This was highlighted during the Volcanic eruptions in April 2010 that caused the grounding of over 100,000 planes. This dramatic graph from informationisbeautiful.com shows just how much CO2 would have been produced had those flights not been cancelled, compared to the CO2 the volcano belched out on a daily basis. Recent estimates show the volcano belched out less than half what the planes would have. The conclusion? An erupting volcano is better on the environment than planes are!

Flying can be a necessary evil for long haul but I’d always recommend overland trips rather than flying if it’s internal. You get to see and experience a country rather than just sit in a bland tin box missing out on real life. You’d be surprised just how many overland tour companies there these days and how many people are even travelling vast distances without ever leaving the ground.

If you do fly there are still ways you can reduce your oil consumption. Planes are becoming increasingly more fuel efficient. The new Airbus A380 double-decker plane is the most fuel efficient per passenger when full. If you can fly on one of these monsters of the skies your consumption will drop by 15-20% per trip compared to other long haul planes. Airbus claim the A380 has saved 640,000t of CO2 emissions by replacing journeys that would otherwise have been made with less fuel-efficient large aircraft. An impressive statistic.

The new Boeing “Dreamliner” 787 for short haul flights is also more efficient and lighter than previous models with a 20% fuel saving per passenger. Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand also trialed 10% ethanol fuels in recent long haul flights with good results so expect fuel consumption of planes to drop even further in the near future.

Cars

How much oil you consume with a car depends on where you are in the world. Countries such as America and Australia are obsessed with gas guzzling V6 and V8 engines with shockingly bad efficiency. While many Japanese and European cars can take you much further on less fuel. Either way mass transport has the ability to be more economical. When a bus is near capacity fuel consumption per person is lower than per person in a car so take the bus to your next destination, make use of public transport and jump on the train when you can!

A note about efficiency

The efficiency of mass transport vehicles such as trains, planes, buses and boats all depends on how full they are. Efficiency reports are always based on full planes, trains, etc so if your train is half full it will be less efficient per person. The conclusion is to be as efficient as possible you need to take the popular forms of mass transport. It might be crowded but it’s greener!

Go Green!

Your oil consumption isn’t just effected by your own personal transportation. Where you stay and what tour operators you use can effect it too. Eco lodges and ‘green’ hotels are becoming a new fashion. Finding innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Supporting these hotels and environmentally friendly tour operators means more will join them in the future. Thinking wisely about consumption will become the norm. Being “green” comes in many shapes and forms but the best are usually more efficient air conditioning, better insulating, locally sourced products and food sources, high economy vehicles used by staff, etc. Ask your hotel or hostel what they do to “be green“.

There’s no doubt that we will continue to rely on oil to travel around the world and live the backpacking life. With increasing numbers of people travelling every year it’s more important than ever to be ‘carbon conscious’.

Here are some useful websites with information on traveling green.

• Traveling Greener
• National Geographic Greendex Guide
• Responsible Travel
• The International Eco-Tourism Society

Tell us what you think

We want to know how oil aware you are when you travel. What do you do to reduce your carbon footprint when backpacking? What great ways have you found to travel green?