A journey's beginning

First blog ever and what better to explore than the impact our travelling has had on the environment over the last 600 years. Right?

Since the 15th century, whether it is through exploring, trading, commuting, holidaying or almost any activity when you think about it, humans have been moving around the world. And this is certainly not confined to just one or two people; in 2011 alone 2.8 billion people travelled by aircraft across 35,000 routes (IATA, 2012).

With this kind of traffic it is unarguable that there will, and already are, global implications. Although I could focus on the financial repercussions, they seem trivial in comparison to the impact travel is having on our ecosystems and environment, the systems that we live in that support our existence.   

Through this blog I will explore the impact travel has had (and is having) on the environment at both a global and local scale. While this will predominantly involve me reviewing articles and giving my opinion, I will be reliving exhibits, discussing cutting edge travel affairs, and then just passing on anything I find 'blog-worthy'. 

For the speech I got my air travel stats from, check out this link on the State of the Air Transport Industry.

While a little, long some of the numbers are truly staggering, and although there is a distinct focus on the financial fragility of the industry, some of the promises relating to sustainability are interesting. None more so than their aim to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020. Call me sceptical but...