10 28 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
THE
VEWS
EXPRESSED
IN THIS COLUMN ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR
PHOTOGRAPHER
MAGA Z
NE
OR
TMED
AL
MTED
We’reurgedtotakefewerflights,
whichraisessomebigquestions
for keen travel photographers
View point
Geof f Harris
Whatcanwedo
tominimiseour
environmental
impact?
A
sI writethis,theinspirational
youngclimate-change
protestorGretaThunbergis
in themiddleof a longsea
voyageto theUSAratherthanjumpingon
a plane.Whateveryourthoughtsonthe
politicsof climatechangeandthetactics
of campaigners,eventhemostardent
globalwarmingdenierhasto admitthat
somethingis goingonwithallthese
floodsandheatwaves.
SincemanyAPreaderswillbekeen
travelorlandscapephotographerswho
regularlyhoponplanes,shouldwebe
doingmoretoreducetheenvironmental
impactof ourpassion?WhileI don’tfeel
guiltyaboutalreadymakingseveraltrips
toAsiathisyear,it doesmake me think.
Butwhataremyoptions?
SlowboattoChina
Iamevenmoretime-poorthanI am
cash-poor,sotakinga slowboattoChina
isn’tthatpracticalgiventhedemandsof
helpingtoruna weeklymagazine.While
lotsof flightsoverthecourseof a yearare
notexactlygreatfortheplanet,youcan
offsetit toanextent.A goodstartingpoint
whenbookinga flightis tocheckouthow
fuelefficienttheairlineis, soI’llbeusing
thegreentravelsite,atmosfair.de,a lot
more.There’salsolotsof information
onlineaboutthoseairlineswhichuse
biofuel,andlogicsuggestsflyingin
businessclassis lessgreenthaneconomy,
asfewerpeoplearebeingmovedbythe
same amount of fuel (that’s one thing to
feelbetteraboutwhenyouare
sandwichedbetweentwosumowrestlers
ona long-haulflighttoTokyo).
Flyingaside,whatmorecanconcerned
photographersdowhengoingabroad?
Maybetrytogetbywithyourexisting
travelclothesratherthanindulgingin
a newoutfit. Theglobaltextileindustry
producesmorecarbonemissionsthan
airlines,accountingforarounda whopping
8%of globalemissions.It’sa start.
Onceyouarrive,it’snowa lot
easiertofindenvironmentallyfriendly
accommodation,evenin thedeveloping
world.I stayedin a wonderfuleco-lodge
in Cambodia,whichwasmuchmore
interestingthansomeblandtouristhotel
(I gotsomegoodpicturestheretoo).If
allthissoundslikemiddleclasshand-
wringing,I’dpointyoutoa recentstory
fromthehighlyphotogenicGreenland,
whereanentirecommunityhadtobe
movedbecauseof meltingglaciers,not
tomentionthestrickenwildlife.It’snot
justme.Asaward-winningtravel
photographerTimothyBirdobserves,
‘apartfrommyconscience,I amfedup
withairportsandamseriouslythinkingof
travellingoverlandmorebytrainandbus,
gettingbackinto“slowtravel”.’
SothoughI regularlytravelfor
photography,itsimpactis aninconvenient
truthI feelI cannolongerignore.Maybe
wecouldstartto heedtheadage,‘thebest
photographsareoftenonyourdoorstep?’
Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround
500 wordstotheaddressonpage 12 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.
Geoff Harris is Deputy Editor of Amateur Photographer.
© 2016 TIM CL AY TON/CORBIS VIA GETT Y IMAGES
© OZGUR DONMA Z/GETT Y IMAGES
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