UNIT 2: A PROBLEM - SOLUTION ESSAY
Write all your essays under the line below after having got the video feedback from the teacher. Use the presentation on the blog and your first draft version on Moodle to make all the corrections first before writing your final essays here. Including your name is not necessary because I have already got all your writings on paper. So, keep it private if you want… but do not hesitate to share
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WHAT COMES AFTER FILOMENA Whether we like it or not, Filomena has arrived here because of us. The strongest snow storm in the last 50 years in Spain is nothing but a consequence of the climate change provoked by pollution. Not only industrial activity but also our bad energy wasting habits are killing the planet softly. Surprisingly, even our wanderlust pollutes! Recent data show the carbon footprint of our holidays represents 5% of the total C02 emissions. Three quarters of it is generated by the transport sector. Air transport seems to be the champion of exhaust fumes. What is more, you and your beloved one can produce 1 ton of carbon on a romantic city break in Europe and 7 times more if you want to see the sunset in Australia. Even when you are sleeping like a baby in your hotel room you are generating…emissions. Obviously, a call for urgent actions is needed. Firstly, I think that the government should encourage people to replace their petrol cars with electric ones which do not harm the environment. Consistent incentives would make electric vehicles adoption more attractive. Secondly, it is the best moment to promote environmentally friendly tourism. After the lockdown, we just want to get away from it all and enjoy nature. In this context, I would bet on local eco-tourism. On the one hand, it provides authentic experiences for tourists, and, on the other hand, economic benefits for host communities. Above all, it is crucial to build both environmental and cultural awareness, and respect. The deeper we understand how harmful pollution is, the easier it will be for us to change our actions.
OVERVIEW ON THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY IMPACT AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS According to the Environmental Research Department, the impact of the travel industry represents 5% of global warming, and 75% of carbon and CO2 emissions. Besides, most of those emissions are caused by air transport alone. In order to reduce such amount of pollution, governments should take measures and regulations on the tourism industry. To begin with, we know that both rail and car transport are less contaminating than air transport so a possible solution to this would be to encourage travelling by high speed train, at least, when it is possible to avoid flights between countries. Also, the use of other ways of transport, such as bus or car, implemented with clean and renewable energies, would totally improve this situation. On the other hand, bicycles could be made available by local authorities in every town for workers to commute and for tourists to go on a short distance trips or sightseeing. This will hopefully contribute to environmental conservation and help the newcomers with the so-called “fair tourism”. All in all, the preservation of our environment is in our hands, but there should be an awareness campaign together with laws and policies regulation. It is a process which requires a lot of investment and renovation.
TRAVEL INDUSTRY IMPACT The provided graphic shows disturbing numbers that threaten our near future as human beings. The large amount of CO2 emissions and its effects, such as the undeniable global warming, are said to be mainly related to the tourism industry. Furthermore, the transport sector is blamed for enhancing the excessive use of cars, airliners and trains; in short, the excessive consumption of fossil fuels and its effects. Fortunately, there are affordable measures that could be taken by the administrations in order to lessen the carbon footprint and, therefore, minimize the environmental effect of the travel industry. Firstly, as actions that are driven to avoid more damage, studies on the field of new sources of energy are vital for our severely damaged nature. Renewable energy is a term to keep in mind. Not only solar energy, but wind and water energy should also be developed and put into practice all around the world. The use of solar energy at home or electric vehicles must be widespread anywhere. Secondly, repairing the damage done, taking care of nature must be compulsory for authorities and citizens. The former enforcing the rules without making any exceptions, the latter understanding the mistake that implies to turn a blind eye to irresponsible behaviour. All things considered, and being aware of the accuracy in the graphic, this short essay could not be but a call to action.
A PROBLEM- SOLUTION ESSAY
Nowadays, one of the most widely used means of transport is the airplane. The plane is used for tourism, by the transport sector or even for governmental reasons. It is also known that travelling by plane offers us some advantages. For instance, it is cheaper, faster than other means of transport and we can travel or transport goods faraway due to direct and long-haul flights. But, what impact does the travel industry have? Apparently, not everything about the travel industry is positive. Unfortunately, there are a lot of environmental problems that cause an extremely devastating impact on the atmosphere. CO2 emissions, air pollution or the greenhouse effect are very harmful for the Earth, especially for the Ozone layer, which gets thinner every time. For this reason, governments should set up some measures to minimize the environmental impact of the travel industry. One of these measures could be reducing CO2 emissions by using other eco-friendly fuels. Moreover, transport and tourist flights could be combined using the same airplanes for both activities. In this way, it could contribute to preserving our environment. In the end, our environment affects us all. Governments and environmental organizations play an important role in contributing to preserve the environment.
PROBLEM SOLUTION ESSAY Since the beginnings of mankind, we, humans, have always had the need of being in constant motion, either for going to work, going on a vacation trip or just to pay a visit to those friends or family members on holiday. But, unfortunately, with the arrival of new and more efficient transport methods based on non-renewable energies, it is obvious that tourism and the travel industry have become quite a problem in our modern world, and that governments clearly need to take urgent measures to change this situation. To start with, governments really need to take measures about transport policies and start promoting programs that could reward, somehow, the use of non-motorized vehicles, such as bicycles. Countries like Switzerland, Japan, China, Denmark, Holland and Germany, are among the countries with the highest number of bicycles per inhabitant in the world. This means that people are always active and healthy throughout the week and reduce the CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Another key aspect in this problem is tourism, which is responsible for about the 5% of the global CO2 emissions and contributes to 4.6% of global warming. The average hotel stay results in carbon emissions of 29.54 kg of CO2. In addition to this, the transport sector (air, car and rail) generates the largest proportion of the global emissions with up to 75% of these, generating emissions of carbon that can reach up to tons. From my point of view, I think that it would be ideal to replace all the non-renewable energies with wind energy, biomass, hydrogen, etc.
To sum everything up, there is no doubt that there is a lot of work ahead for us to do, and that we will have to scrape through all of it to achieve the ideal goal: reduce the emissions of fossil fuels that cause all the quandary of the global warming and start living a new more sustainable lifestyle.
A problem solution-essay  Nowadays, we are living in an increasingly connected world. Thanks to the improvements in communications, citizens and businesses have started trading around the globe and people are more willing to visit foreign countries, facts that lead to a big increase in global transport volume. This has become a problem, and now, transport vehicles have become a major part of global warming, being the plane the worst one. Not only vehicles are the problem, but an average hotel stay also translates into almost 30kg of CO2 emissions. In fact, tourism is responsible for 5% of global warming. Personally, I think governments should actively promote switching to less harmful vehicles, like electric trains, and make its tickets more affordable, by, for example, lowering their taxes. Nowadays, traveling by plane is very fast and frequently cheaper compared with its more green alternatives, and it is evident that it helped it gain popularity. Another point worth mentioning is that governments definitely need to enforce companies to enroll in CO2 compensation programs, where they have to collaborate proportionally to the CO2 footprint they are generating. This would make the travel industry act with more care for the environment. My point is that businesses have to react and start being responsible for the pollution they generate. But, in the end, we, as users, have the last word. We do vote for what we want when we spend money, and we should start choosing more ecological alternatives for our travels. Â
