For thousands of years, people have been traveling from one place to another. For the modern individual, we treat traveling as a time for leisure while creating new experiences, and in some cases, people travel for work and business. But during more ancient times, tribes and groups would move from one area to another because of more pressing matters, such as the exhaustion of resources in an area, the lack of proper topography, natural calamities, and the presence of warfare.
But for different cultures and ethnicity, a nomadic lifestyle is one that is filled with adventures and thrills. Although, this isn’t necessarily the case for some cultures as most will often exhaust resources in a particular area before moving on to the next.
After thousands of years, there are certain demographics that practice a nomadic lifestyle by traveling from one state to another without a care in the world. With the recent invention of smartphones and other mobile devices that are easy to carry, most individuals have started traveling more as a hobby and adopted a nomadic lifestyle. This is especially true that most social media platforms like Instagram have been peddling to a more “Bohemian” demographic.
But what are some facts regarding a more nomadic lifestyle? Is it more sustainable for you and the environment? Here’s what you’ll need to know.
Is It Sustainable?
Several experts would argue that most tourists and digital nomads have a major influence on the management of waste around the world. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) would estimate that there are 4.8 million tons of solid waste that is being produced solely by tourists every year.
Most of the time, rural communities and areas only have waste management systems that are explicitly designed for low populations. A sudden influx of travelers and tourists can cause an overload in these trash management systems.
If you’re looking forward to having a nomadic lifestyle, it’s best that you practice proper waste disposal by actually having a proper nomadic home. Sure, having a backpack and some essentials is a great way of traveling, but it’s not necessarily the most sustainable nor the most practical. Fortunately, you can conveniently take all the essential items with you while still enjoying the comfort of a nomadic home with an RV. There are several RV dealers that can get you an affordable RV if you ever plan on having a more nomadic life.
In a study done by one person, he found out that traveling for at least a year (on both air and land) has already resulted in around 29,000 kilograms of carbon footprint. So can you just imagine the amount of carbon footprint that you can produce from traveling for years? Several other studies have pointed out that the digital nomad is often responsible for half of the CO2 that’s being emitted.
However, there’s still more that needs to be taken into account when it comes to this study. There’s no problem with traveling, but it’s important to remember the significant impact we have on the environment.
Although there’s nothing wrong with traveling and practicing a more sustainable lifestyle, it’s important to remember that we will always produce a carbon footprint and solid waste no matter what we do. However, this doesn’t mean that we should stop fighting for the environment. Ultimately, you shouldn’t necessarily worry about how you’re traveling as long as you practice proper waste disposal and consume what you only need.
