We’re launching our 25 Days to Green Travel series with photos that remind us why traveling green – and living green – matters. We’re going with the “a picture is worth a thousand words” concept. As I searched for these photos, I was reminded over and over that our travel decisions don’t just affect us; they affect people and wildlife across the world, and they will for generations to come.
The post wraps up with some truly amazing photos of beautiful places, people, and creatures around the world, so stick through the depressing photos to the end and you’ll be rewarded.
The Bad
Destruction of Wildlife Photos
Bird covered in oil from a Black Sea oil spill, Strait of Kerch, Russia. photo credit: marinephotobank
Polar bear on melted ice, Barents Island, Norway. photo credit: © Arne Naevra
Dead fish in a polluted river, Buenos Aires, Argentina. photo credit: blmurch
Global Warming Photos
Exposed coral reef, Gili Meno, Indonesia. photo credit: yeowatzup
Fragment of a melted iceberg, Jökulsárlón, Iceland. photo credit: nick_russill
Floating chunk of a melted glacier, El Calafate, Argentina. photo credit: lrargerich
Melting glaciers, Jökulsárlón, Iceland. photo credit: csproete
Water Pollution Photos
Polluted river filled with trash, Siem Reap, Cambodia. photo credit: davilla
Man fishing for plastic bags in River Yamuna, Delhi, India. photo credit: Koshyk
Metal barrel floating in a polluted green lake. photo credit: jantik
Pictures of Air Pollution
Taj Mahal choking in early morning smog, Agra, India. photo credit: mshandro
Smog pollutes a city, Beijing, China. photo credit: diggingforfire
Factory air pollution, Nova Scotia, Canada. photo credit: ojbyrne
Car pollution, Cremona, Italy. photo credit: Simone Ramella
A blanket of smog, Mexico City, Mexico. photo credit: arndw
Smog hangs over the City of Angels, Los Angeles, California. photo credit: cwsteeds
A blanket of smog pollution, Santiago, Chile. photo credit: philliecasablanca
One way to avoid breathing polluted air, Tehran, Iran. photo credit: kamshots
Airplane pollution high in the sky, Anywhere. photo credit: mshades
Photos of Forest Destruction & Deforestation
Lonely stump of deforestation, Playa de Champerico, Guatemala. photo credit: Pati’s Moment in Time
Deforestation in the Amazon, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Brazil. photo credit: dgidsicki
A mountain of deforestation, Wakayama, Japan. photo credit: T.Hagihara
Photos of Waste
Electronic waste from the West, China. photo credit: art_es_anna
Chinese baby surround by e-waste from the West, China. photo credit: art_es_anna
The Good
Preserve the Sites and Wildlife
Coral reefs and fish, Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. photo credit: Jim Maragos/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland. photo credit: atomicpuppy68
Gorgeous mountains and water, Brienz, Switzerland. photo credit: pilou
Young elephants, Masai Mara, Kenya. photo credit: wildcat_dunny
Adult and baby moose, Alaska, United States. photo credit: Paul Resh
Support the Local Economy and Way of Life
Woman selling local fish, Seoul, South Korea. photo credit: neaners
Street vendor selling local good, India. photo credit: utpal
All of these images except one are from Flickr, many from amateur photographers.
Every green traveler has those days where she just wants to give up. Pollution, global warming, bad environmental policy decisions – how much of a difference can one person really make? The answer is, each of us can make a big difference. No matter what shade of green traveler you are, I hope these photos motivate you to keep traveling green.
31 Reasons to Travel Green: In Pictures is the first post in Go Green Travel Green’s 25 Days to Green Travel series. You can see the complete list of articles in the 25 Days to Green Travel Index. If you haven’t already, subscribe to our feed (also available via email) and stay up to date.
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Stumbled here via Gadling. You folks are doing a great job. Happy to see a green blog.
Thanks for using my pic (Car pollution in Cremona, Italy). I’m honoured to be part of this powerful post. And please feel free to use any other of my pics should you need more. Best wishes from Italy.
i think that helping our planet is the best thing that we can do because we need to preseve all of the good things in life before it’s too late and were crying about it i think that we should all go green in order to help the place that we live in that is our beloved EARTH :] I thank you for trying to put the helping mind in everyone
This article definately accomplished what it was trying to do! For me with all the “GO GREEN” everywhere it makes you think a little more about what we r actually doing and what we should really be doing. I would have to agree that i have started going green and every little bit helps and i plan on going more GREEN!
that ladies is hot!
Awww the polar bear is so cute now i definatly wanna go green!!!
Beautiful pictures. A creative way to engage people.
Thank you so much for posting these photographs. People need to know how the earth and environment are suffering. You have inspired me to make sure that I not only take the “pretty photos” as we travel. But that I take the “reality” shots too.
Summer 2005, I took classes at a University in Beijing. While I was there, I will never forget how surprized I was that the air polution was so intense. I spent my Summer 2001 in New York City and Beijing was even worse.
My husband and I leave on September 30th to backpack to various countries around the world for a year or so.
As we have been planning for our adventure we have been updating a blog. http://www.nomadbackpackers.com We would love to have other opinions, ideas, encouragement, advice, helpful tips, and more left as comments.
Thanks,
Natalie
oh my gawd so much detruction in the world N i dint know your pictures were pretty [most of em]
I wonder if that “cute” polar bear is thinking about eating cute green berries or tearing open a cute baby seal and devouring the meat.
Maybe you ladies will wake up from under your green quilts and realize that under the “global warming” craze is a bunch of global-hungry men who want to set up a world governmental body in order to weild power over the masses, all in the name of saving your deified planet. Hello!!
great job collecting photos. the images really speak.
i wonder if the polor bear is going to live on that last peace of ice and please if u read this please recycle and don’t litter. Do me a favor and u please recycle THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
wow … beautiful pictures, are you sure those were taken by amateurs ?
Holy mother of destruction, wake up people ! soon it’s going to be us instead of those fishes and birds
Fantastic post! Photos are such a powerful medium for conveying messages of conservation.
Thank you,
Gina
whoa, that picture of switzerland is amazing! i sure hope that place never gets destroyed by pollution!
Wonderful pictures. I really think that posting pictures is more effective in bringing the reality of pollution closer to people. They talk in a way that words cannot.
So sad to see some of the suffering we cause.
Sure Italy is one of the most beautifil places of the world!
Very glad you posted the good afterwords, those pictures, while stunning were incredibly disturbing. Very powerful post. Thanks.
The “bad” photos started to make me feel like there was no hope, but the “good” photos reminded me there’s so much beauty to preserve.
The picture of Ireland is absolutely stunning! All very thought provoking. Thanks for the post.
the oil spill in Mexico would surely be one of the greatest environmental disasters for this year.,`,
The real meaning of Go Green is to SAVE FUEL , SAVE TREES , SAVE WATER , STOP USE POLY BAGS , NOT TO BLOW HORNS UNTIL REQUIRED URGENTLY , SAVE PAPERS , SAVE EARTH ……AND MUCH MORE ,.We have to use bicycle while traveling local areas. I love this planet earth , please give my planet back . Go Green !!lets starts now .
Nice piece Kimberly and great pictures! Great ethical travel site.
Thanks, Amy! Glad you liked it.
We try so hard to be mindful, and consume less, poison less. Now the government has finally admitted that they have been spraying the sky with vaporized toxic metals as well as plastic and paper in an experiment to change the weather. They say that it helps deflect rays from the sun, as if that is a good and important thing to do. They say that because the metal reflects the sun away more efficiently, that is a good enough reason to use it and poison us.
The snow on Mt. Shasta is polluted with many, many thousands more parts per million of dangerous toxic metals than is considered safe. Our farmers are finding high levels of toxic materials in the soil our food is grown in, crazy high. Air samples are toxic as well. Is it any wonder we can’t get well? Is it any wonder that we are over-using the health care system…and the system doesn’t even understand or know how to deal with the toxic overload that is commonly understood, much less toxic spraying.
So when I saw the picture of the chemtrails, I just had to say something. The “airplane pollution” is deliberate pollution, and a dangerous gamble with the health of the world. Real contrails will dissipate and disappear, and it usually doesn’t take too long. Chemtrails, on the other hand, spread and cover the sky with a heavy cover that blots out the sun. I’ve watched it again and again over my own head.
Just sayin. Even though every little bit helps, out government is involved in poisoning our world on a huge scale. Makes you wonder.
We went to Corpus Christy this last fall and were a bit disappointed by our trip. Maybe it was the particular beach we went to, but not knowing for sure, all I can say is we couldnt believe that there was actually oil on the beach! So sad… I wonder if they have any rules regarding to the clean up of the oil there.
Eco travel changes everything to say the least! You want to preserve these environments for future years.