With this article, we’re introducing Jimmy McDonough, Real Food Traveler’s new Eco-Friendly Food, Travel & Adventure Editor. Here, he poses some thought-provoking questions about how we can balance the love of travel we all share and the desire (need) to help the planet. Jimmy explores whether eco travel can be combined with our desires to explore the world.

Save this article about eco travel to Pinterest to help you consider your next journey. Photos by Jimmy McDonough.

Eco Travel: Is it time to give up travel?

What a bizarre thing to ask on a website dedicated to the joys of travel and food! I pose this question because scientific evidence is that human activities are harming our planet, and this includes travel and tourism. On my travels I have witnessed tourism run amok. All over my beloved home of Colorado, entire natural landscapes have disappeared under development of resorts, golf courses, vacation homes, etc. In Iceland, the Yucatan and the High Rockies, careless hikers overrun trails and off-road vehicles assault delicate ecosystems. Plastic waste washes ashore on beaches everywhere.

To reduce these negative impacts, one logical conclusion is to stop doing harmful activities, including travel. After all, compared to other human activities, travel is not a survival necessity and is a privilege that only people with disposable income can indulge. Becoming aware of the potential harmful impacts to the planet, I’ve had to ask myself, “How can I justify the value that comes from travel?”

The California Coast in Sonoma County – keep it beautiful!

Honestly, I cannot imagine a life without travel (can you?!) and my personal goal has always been to travel more, not less – especially in my later years! Visiting unknown places and cultures feeds an innate curiosity and desire to experience the world. Eliminating travel from my life would require sacrificing an important part of my identity and quality of life.

On a global level, eliminating travel would have numerous negative impacts that could actually outweigh the potential positives. Travel offers the opportunity to connect people from different cultures, potentially enhancing cross-cultural understanding that builds respect and peaceful co-existence. Travel and tourism provide income opportunities for millions and transfers wealth across borders. These are important benefits.

Polluted air covers canyons of Arizona and Utah as seen from above, in-flight.

No, it is not time to stop travel!

But it is time to become aware of my personal environmental impact. To take action that reduces the harm of my travels. I owe it to all our children who will inherit the planet’s challenges created by previous generations.

Fragile landscapes need care to stay beautiful.

Hungry for more? Read about the travel experience in Iceland.

Eco-Travel: So what is eco-friendly travel?

I think of it as part of a larger responsibility to live an eco-friendly life, and a personal commitment to make travel choices that reduce the harmful impact on the planet’s ecosystems and peoples. Reducing the use of fossil fuels and plastics. Changing what I eat. Carefully choosing where and with whom I spend my travel budget. Improving the welfare of others who live in the places where I travel. This is a call to make real and meaningful changes in how I live before, during, and after travel.

As both a travel lover and earth lover, I intend to find ways to balance these potentially contradictory actions. As Real Food Traveler’s Eco-Friendly Food, Travel & Adventure Editor, my goal is to inform and facilitate meaningful conversation to inspire RFT readers to become eco-friendly travelers. Although we are all on our own individual journey in this life, we share one world.

Eco-friendly travel is a work in progress; please share your experiences and lessons learned! Share your tips and questions to courtney@realfoodtraveler.com.

-Story and photos by Jimmy McDonough, Real Food Traveler Eco-Friendly Food, Travel & Adventure Editor

Stay on the trail and enjoy nature, like this view in Iceland.