HOLIDAYS abroad can make any little green changes we've introduced to our everyday lives seem completely redundant. So what if you turn off the tap when you brush your teeth, recycle junk mail and have switched to low energy lightbulbs. How can those lifestyle tweaks compensate for taking a flight that releases tons of harmful CO into the atmosphere?
As holiday firms have cottoned on to the environmental irresponsibility we feel when planning getaways, there have been deals using the buzzwords "sustainable", "eco" and "carbon offsetting" in advertising. They sound like the ideal solution. But do
all these holidays deliver on their claims, or are they just scrabbling to make money from an emerging market? One company you can trust to have authentic green credentials is Earthwatch. Founded in 1971, as an international environmental charity whose mission is to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education, its allegiance is towards the planet first and tourism second.
Its ethical stance is supported by such luminaries as Paul Rose, explorer and former Base Commander for the British Antarctic Survey. "Earthwatch expeditions present a truly unique way for people to get connected to the environment around them and explore some of the real challenges that our world is currently facing," he says.
And sea turtle research scientist Dr Jeff Seminoff, based in Baja, California, says: "The proactive approach that Earthwatch takes by getting a diversity of people involved with scientific research is the key to the sustainability of our natural and cultural world."
Sounds worthy – but that doesn't mean a trip with Earthwatch will be dull. On a less altruistic note, their expedition programme for 2008 reads like a wishlist of exotic destinations. Just don't call it a holiday, you're a scientific field assistant on a field research project, OK?
However, working hard on your adventure can take some getting used to, so if you're the type who wants to lie on the beach with a paperback, perhaps it's not for you. But think of the warm glow of satisfaction you'll get from volunteering to monitor leatherback sea turtles in Costa Rica, or families of elephants in Tsavo, both the subjects of previous trips.
Professor James Crabb, lead scientist for the coral reef programme in Jamaica, says: "Volunteers make the difference between success and failure.
"They bring insight and dynamic participation to science, and they enthuse the local people with a sense of why we are there and how, together, we can make their ownership of the environment a reality. Not just now, but for future generations." The Jamaican coral reefs aren't on the itinerary this year, but there are many other varied trips, as Earthwatch supports over 120 environmental research projects in 55 countries.
New additions to their programmes include five days in Bordeaux learning how natural farming methods help wildlife thrive in vineyards; a trip to Tanzania's Tarangire National Park to assist scientists in monitoring the health of zebra, giraffe and wildebeest; and a mission to observe fur seals, Steller sea lions and reindeer on St George Island in Alaska.
However, one of the most unexpected trips on this year's list is a visit to the Big Apple. It's not the most obvious place to go wildlife-watching but researchers on the New York City Wildlife trip will oversee the urban beasts of Manhattan. It turns out that there are a huge array of wild animals living among the 8.2 million human inhabitants of New York. Refuting the idea that mice, rats, cockroaches and the flying vermin that are pigeons are the only critters in this city, this trip will reveal the estimated 250 species of birds, as well as racoons, bats, turtles and other creatures in the area.
It's eye opening to see how wildlife survives the sprawl of urbanisation – a peregrine falcon perched on Brooklyn Bridge is a surprisingly common sight.
The trip includes visits to research sites in and around Manhattan, as well as to rural areas within 100 miles of the city. At each site, volunteers will examine wildlife and habitat quality. Other jobs may include tracking and camera-trapping mammals (taking photographs of nocturnal creatures with movement sensor cameras), catching frogs and salamanders, assessing water samples, identifying birds and surveying native and invasive plant species. Each day is rounded off with educational activities, in which visitors learn from guest speakers exactly how the day's research will help the local environment.
If this sounds like your bag then swapping your usual holiday for something that might benefit the environment is a realistic option this year. After all, what's better – that the planet heats up a couple of degrees or that you feel warm inside?
For more information see www.earthwatch.org/europe The New York Wildlife trips run from May-September 2008 and cost £892 for nine days. All prices include food, accommodation, training and green offsetting of carbon emissions. Flights extra.
To calculate and offset your carbon footprint, visit www.carbonfootprint.com or www.offsetcarbon.co.uk
