Travel’s Place in the Environment

This chapter examines the impacts of our travel behaviours on our natural environment. The chapter considers the history of these relations, from the age of muscle and wind, through industrialization and seemingly limitless growth, to the realities of climate change and ecological limits that we now face. The negative impacts of human travel are evident in transport-related emissions, which contribute around a quarter of global carbon emissions, and in the more localized impacts of air pollution and habitat disruption due to transport and tourism. We are only at the start of the quest to see how we can live and travel sustainably: this chapter asks, how can our technologies and behaviours change to meet this challenge? It explores possibilities around reducing travel, and suggests that we may reach a more equitable future not by authoritarian edicts but by behavioural ‘nudging’ techniques including pricing and rationing to encourage more responsible travel and the development of sustainable technology.