We have seen how much
contamination can be caused by tourism (even if we prefer to ignore the data). From Interesting Engineering (May 2018) here: ‘Research Shows Pollution from Global Tourism is More Than
What We Thought’. The article says: ‘...The researchers found out that the
emissions from tourism are much higher than even international trade. Also, the
newfound values point the greenhouse gases from tourism, accounting for
one-tenth of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions...’. Less flights would
help ‘...because nothing that we do pumps carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
faster than air travel...’ (here). ‘Over 4,000 million
Passengers Flew In 2017 Setting New Travel Record’ (here). Of these, 1,400 million were international tourists (here).
Cruise ships are dirty, too. Forbes reports that ‘Cruise Ship Pollution is Causing Serious Health and
Environmental Problems’. Around 26 million customers took a cruise in 2017 (here). From Hosteltur
here (and staying with aggressive pollution) ‘From next year
NASA will open the International Station to tourists’. From Responsible
Travel, an essay called ‘Is travel a right? – The concept of right, &
when it’s just wrong’.
Mass tourism can create other
ills, too. From Hello BCN Hostel comes ‘The combination of cheap airfare, affordable lodging and
social media has led to one of the biggest “trends” in our world today –
tourism. It’s a beautiful thing, being able to travel and experience a culture
so different from your own. However, there is a certain type of tourism, known
as mass tourism, that is destroying culture in these beautiful areas, and
driving out locals...’.
Closer to home, our summer festivals are starting (to continue, in lesser and greater ways, until mid September). The souvenir shops and restaurants are full, the beaches crammed and the roads (we only have two) barely moving. Right now, we are about to discover another form of pollution, brought to us by the trabuco, the ear-splitting discharge from a blunderbuss.
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