Environmental Considerations

As you hop aboard your plane to land at your study abroad destination you will be joining millions of other people in the world who travel every year for business or pleasure. You will become, yes, it’s hard to hear but true, a tourist. Of course, you won’t be like just any tourist, you will be a study abroad student—one of nearly 200,000 students from the U.S. studying, living, and traveling in another country.

As a study abroad student you will have the fortunate opportunity to have interactions with local people that will be more meaningful than a typical tourist interaction, but as you set off on your long-haul international flight and begin engaging in activities in your host country, it's important to consider your environmental impact.

No matter where you are going—to an urban or rural setting in a more or less developed country—you will have opportunities to confront the realities of people and cultures coming together around tourism and sustainabililty. As a responsible tourist you should, above all, be knowledgeable about your destination, seek awareness of the impact that your presence has on the local population and environment, and attempt to minimize negative impacts.

What Can You Do

There has been a movement in recent years to find ways to address the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of travel and tourism in the hopes that it will contribute to sustainable development. This movement has many variations and labels: ecotourism, green tourism, responsible tourism, sustainable tourism, ethical tourism, voluntourism, fair-trade tourism, pro-poor tourism, traveler’s philanthropy, etc. While each stresses particular themes, their core philosophy is the same: Support responsible travel that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.

The sustainable travel movement is strong and growing and multiple organizations around the world are seeking to educate people about what they can do to contribute. Many of the suggestions are simple and can be easily instituted. Click here for even more suggestions.

Study Abroad with Green Passport:

Study abroad students can make a pledge to minimize their impact on the environment through “Green Passport,” a social networking site dedicated to linking environmental conscious students while providing eco-tourism suggestions and links to additional resources.

To learn more about how you can make your study abroad adventure as sustainable as possible, please visit http://www.greenpassport.us.

Also, be sure to join the University of Iowa Green Passport group at: http://greenpassport.ning.com/group/uistudyabroad.

Offset Carbon Emissions:

For a small amount of your overall travel budget, consider donating to an organization involved in carbon offsetting. They will, in turn, contribute money to worthy organizations that are involved in projects that seek alternative energy sources, plant trees, etc. in order to reduce the amount of ozone-depleting carbon in the atmosphere (largely caused by air traffic). These organizations will determine how much you need to spend based on the amount of miles you have flown, what type of aircraft you are flying/vehicle you are driving, etc. Check with Sustainable Travel International or Environmental Defense Fund for a list of carbon off-setting organizations.

Take Part in Awareness-Raising Events:

Students, travelers, and volunteers abroad have a unique opportunity to take part in a global movement as 350 messengers by participating in, planning, and documenting actions on October 24th, the Global Day of Climate Action. Check out www.350.org for more information. Then, get involved locally - get in touch with organizers to see how you can help. If nothing's planned yet in your area, think about getting in touch with a local organization to see if they might be interested in pulling something together. Wiser Earth and Idealist are two great networks to start with - and there is plenty of information about organizing in the Action Resources section of the 350.org website.

Link Up:

Check out the following websites for more suggestions on how you can become more environmentally conscious - both here and abroad:

UI Office for Sustainability: http://sustainability.uiowa.edu/

UI Facilities Management Energy and Enviornment: http://energy.uiowa.edu/

Eco Iowa City: http://icpl.org/eco-iowa-city

Iowa Renewable Energy Association: www.irenew.org

Iowa Energy Center: www.energy.iastate.edu/

Power Down for the Planet: www.powerdownfortheplanet.org

Carbon Neutral: www.carbonneutral.com/

AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education): www.aashe.org/about/

Click here for even more suggestions.

Safe and sustainable travels to you from the Office for Study Abroad!

Excerpted from article written by Astrid Jirka, co-director of the Green Passport Program and an outreach coordinator at Ithaca College’s Office of International Programs. Research for this article was supported by a National Science Foundation grant.