Rough Guide to Staying Put

Mark Ellingham, founder of Rough Guides, the well-known Lonely Planet competitor, tells The Guardian there's no such thing as an ethical travel holiday. In a story about growing worldwide air travel, Ellingham is quoted comparing the travel industry's failure to own up to its carbon footprint to the tobacco industry's denial regarding the health hazards of smoking.

While aviation currently only accounts for about 2 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, it is the fastest growing source (expected to roughly double by 2025), and one not accounted for in the Kyoto treaty. Moreover, airplane emissions have a greater warming effect, pound for pound, than do land-based emissions, as they occur at altitude.

Rough Guide now publishes a Guide to Climate Change, authored by a staff writer from NCAR -- the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. The company urges travelers to fly less and stay longer while also offsetting emissions.