Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Leisure travel bad for the planet? Stay home?

Dear EarthTalk: Is leisure travel so bad for the planet that we are all better off just staying home?

—Jackie Smith, Boston, Massachusetts


According to the International Air Transport Association, in 2024 global air travel increased by 10.4%. Behind this surge in tourism is growing affluence in developing countries, demographic shifts to younger generations, convenience of travel, and increasing awareness through social media.

Despite the booming economies traveling creates, there lurks the harsh penalties that each flight, drive and cruise puts on Mother Earth. Tourism accounts for about 8% of world greenhouse gas emissions. University of Queensland Associate Professor Ya-Yen Sun conducted a study showing how tourism is the leading producer of greenhouse gases of all global economic sectors. Dr. Sun and his research team anticipate “annual increases in emissions of three to four percent” from travel alone.

Transportation is the primary contributor of greenhouse gases from travel, almost half of tourism’s carbon footprint. Online emissions calculator, Atmosfair, shows that a single round-trip flight from New York to Los Angeles for a typical family emits 7.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). This is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from approximately 1.7 gasoline-powered vehicles driven in one year.

“Goods” and “Food & Beverage” make up the next largest contributors of greenhouse gases. These categories encompass the souvenirs and shopping experiences of tourism, considering production, manufacturing and shipping. Food production entails growing, processing, transporting, and much more, thus multiplying its carbon footprint.

Visualizing the effects of global warming is difficult, even with these numbers and facts. Rising sea levels and dwindling ice sheets seem hardly connected to one airplane ride.

University of Tennessee Professor John Nolt concluded after calculations that “the average American is responsible, through his/her greenhouse gas emissions, for the suffering and/or deaths of one or two future people.”

Yet, we can and are doing more to combat travel’s eco-damage. Aircraft emissions are being lowered through biofuels, electric motors and efficient design. Quitting travel is extreme, but consider the impacts of your next trip. And if the answer to travel or not is yes, decrease your carbon footprint: buy offsets, choose efficient airlines, fly during the day. And remember what Dorothy concluded after her travels: “There’s no place like home.”

EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Classifieds - June 4, 2026

Classifieds - June 4, 2026

HELP WANTED

DENTAL ASSISTANT Part Time: Tuesday to Friday, for exclusive private practice in Sharon, CT. Flexible schedule and hours, competitive salary. 860-364-0200, office@drnweeia.org.

TOWN OF SHARON HELP WANTED: Building Department /Land Use Office Support, part-time, approximately 25 hours per week, $24.70 per hour. Position provides administrative support for the Building Official, Fire Marshal, and Land Use Administrator. Qualifications: High School Diploma or GED (Associates Degree Preferred) with 4 years increasingly responsible work experience, preferably in administrative work, public con-tact, and field of municipal government. For full job description, see the Town of Sharon Website (sharonct.gov) or con-tact the Selectmen's Office at 860-364-5789. Applications and resumes are to be received in the Selectmen's Office, P. O. Box 385, Sharon, CT 06069 by 4:00PM June 15, 2026. The Town of Sharon is an equal opportunity employer.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ashley Falls man charged with murder after body found at home

Cole Bushnell, 41, of Ashley Falls is arraigned on one count of murder at Southern Berkshire District Court June 2. He is being held without bail.

Madi Long

SHEFFIELD – An Ashley Falls, Massachusetts, man is being held without bail after prosecutors alleged he killed a Connecticut man whose body was later discovered on his property.

Cole Bushnell, 41, was arraigned Tuesday in Southern Berkshire District Court on one count of murder, according to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Book lovers flock to opening day of Kent library sale

Business is brisk at the opening day of the Kent Memorial Library's used book sale May 22

Ruth Epstein

KENT – The Kent Memorial Library’s popular used book sale drew eager shoppers on opening day Friday, May 22despite being held in a new location this year.

With the library’s North Main Street building undergoing a major renovation, the sale has temporarily moved to the library’s quarters on Landmark Lane in the Kent Shopping Center, thanks to property owner John Casey.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Eric Sloane’s vision of early America preserved in Kent museum

Andrew Rowand, curator and site administrator at the Eric Sloane Museum, gives a talk at recent 'People and Places of Kent' event.

Ruth Epstein

KENT – Visitors to the latest “People and Places in Kent” program got a behind-the-scenes look at one of the town’s most notable attractions when Eric Sloane Museum curator and site administrator Andrew Rowand spoke about the museum’s history, collections and namesake.

The presentation, sponsored by the Kent Senior Center and Kent Historical Society, explored the legacy of Eric Sloane, the artist, author and collector whose passion for preserving early American tools and traditions led to the creation of Connecticut’s first state-funded museum. Located on Route 7 north of the village, the museum has welcomed visitors since 1969 and is now designated a National Historic Landmark.

Keep ReadingShow less
Early morning Kent crash sends car into ditch, disrupts traffic on Rt. 341

A blue SUV remains in a ditch after an early-morning crash along Segar Mountain Road in Kent May 27.

Ruth Epstein

KENT – A driver escaped with minor injuries after an SUV crashed into a utility pole and water line before rolling into a ditch along Segar Mountain Road early Wednesday morning, May 27, disrupting traffic for much of the day and affecting water service to a nearby residence.

The single-vehicle crash occurred around 4:30 a.m. near 36 Segar Mountain Road, just under half a mile east of the intersection with South Kent Road. State police said the blue SUV struck the pole, went over a guardrail and came to stop in a roadside ditch.

Keep ReadingShow less

Pauline King Garfield

Pauline King Garfield

EAST CANAAN — Pauline K. (King) Garfield, 94 of 77 South Canaan Rd. formerly of East Canaan, died Sunday May 24, 2026, at Geer Village.She was the wife of the late Duane Garfield who passed August 14, 2017. Pauline was born April 3, 1932 in North Canaan, CT in the former Geer Hospital. She was the daughter of the late Charles and Rose (Van Vlack) King.

Pauline spent her career at Becton Dickinson in Canaan, after being a stay-at-home mother for many years.She was employed at Becton Dickinson for 23 years. She enjoyed bus trips with her late husband Duane to the Casinos, spending time with her family watching the grandchildren grow up. Recently she made a comment to care givers that was “wait until I see that husband of mine for leaving me here, I am going to read him the riot act.” Over the years she enjoyed many crafts, but her favorite was crocheting gifts for everyone.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.