Close the laptop, pack the suitcase and off to the plane: for many people it has long been part of everyday life, if it is not a pandemic. It is true that the UN climate conference discussed how the earth can be saved from collapse. But that doesn’t detract from the travel mood, the longing for being on the move is huge. Julia-Maria Blesin starts at this point. With “Green Traveling – Simply travel sustainably” she wants to inspire readers to travel in an environmentally conscious way.
Playful illustrations, lots of symbolic photos and a shot of the author hugging a tree – if you open the guide, you might first wonder whether you shouldn’t just be baited with images of nature and big promises, as is often the case with greenwashing . Greenwashing means presenting products as ecologically sustainable even though they are not. Or in this case: a book that advertises a solution but only lists truisms. But Blesin manages to provide specific tips for sustainable travel without just pointing to the obvious.
Sustainable travel – for the author it means a lot more than taking the train instead of flying. In addition to the ecological component of minimizing and offsetting CO2 emissions, she also mentions the social responsibility of travelers. The economy and society of the country visited should benefit from tourism, not suffer from it. This not only means giving preference to hotels, shops and restaurants run by locals over those of international corporations, but also treating culture with interest and respect.
The author makes many suggestions. Hiking routes and bike tours can replace the journey by car. Holiday destinations in Europe instead of Asia are more environmentally friendly and have just as much to offer culturally. Sharing offers for accommodations far away from Airbnb, where many commercial providers cavort and damage the housing market.
Between the practical tips, Blesin cites scientific articles and environmental organizations that show why travel is partly to blame for climate change. For Blesin, planning begins with the purchase of a sustainably produced hiking jacket. There is a lot to consider – even which search engines are the more sustainable option to Google because they are climate neutral. That can be overwhelming at times.
Julia-Maria Blesin does not assume absolutism: She writes of “more sustainable travel”, not of a dogmatic “sustainable travel” – every step in the right direction is better than treading on the spot. This principle becomes clear in the content: The author tries to provide tips for every situation in life, be it for students or families with children. In between, she sprinkles personal experiences that make it clear that a sustainable life is not possible from one day to the next. On the book cover, however, the dogmatism is waiting again: “Simply travel sustainably” – it is not that simple.
Julia-Maria Blesin: Green Traveling – Simply travel sustainably. Oekom Verlag, Munich 2021. 192 pages, 17 euros.