We love that our students get to use their temporary home in Rome as a jumping off point for exciting travels. Sadly, the carbon emissions from short flights are a huge culprit in global warming. Not only are massive amounts of jet fuel burned but the emissions at high altitudes have a more detrimental effect. A student can carry out the most virtuous lifestyle on the ground — turning off the lights, avoiding needless purchases and packaging, recycling everything, eating plant-based, using public transit or walking and that’s all great. But the moment they get on that plane to Amsterdam their carbon footprint soars.
When students arrive we ask them to use the simple EPA carbon calculator https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/carbon-footprint-calculator to understand the impact of the culture that most of them are usually coming from: US suburbs or campuses. To simplify this further, since most students don’t know their family’s energy bills, we suggest these rough numbers: $150/month electricity bill, Natural gas/oil $100/month. Gas mileage from 15 mpg for SUV to 25 mpg for smaller cars. We tell them to skip all of the “promises” of improvement the first time around. The resulting report gives a simple Annual Estimated Household Carbon Footprint in CO2 Emissions (lbs) and compares that to the US average.
Then we do this again but taking into account the changes in lifestyle they will experience here. Reduced energy appliances, practically no driving, much less HVAC, line drying laundry, smaller fridges, etc. This second footprint is significantly smaller. Until we factor in those low-cost high-emissions weekend trips!
The good news is that Rome is strategically positioned to reach countless wonderful destinations without the need for flying!
Cheap regional trains connect Rome to beaches, mountains, villages and cultural treasures. Students can catch a bus to Termini station, hop on a train that zips them east to Tivoli where they can hike amidst waterfalls, visit not one but three UNESCO heritage sites, photograph the most amazing Renaissance fountains they will ever see, and with an extra local bus ride explore the world-famous archaeological park of Hadrian’s Villa. Total cost of the trip, not including a great lunch at a fraction of the cost of central Rome: about €10 round trip. Total carbon footprint: negligible. And no arriving at a distant airport 2 hours early and going through security.
What’s a Freccia?
Fast and frequent trains take students right into the center of Italian cultural capitals like Milano, Venezia, Napoli and Firenze and the experience of riding these comfortable trains, looking out the window, strolling to the cafe car for an espresso, are a highlight of a European adventure.
What about night trains?
Night trains to Vienna or Paris just to name a few can be a great way to optimize time and save on hotel accommodations. There are also night ferries to Sicily or Croatia or Greece. In terms of pleasurable, adventurous experience there is no comparison to crowded flights.
When planning independent travel we suggest that students think creatively with an eye to increasing the fun while reducing their emissions. A single flight can allow a hub city like Paris e a jumping off for trains to the Netherlands and then night ferries to Scandinavia, or trains down to Barcelona or through the Chunnel to London. And then maybe a series of trains back to Rome with overnight stops in Nice, the Cinque Terre, or Milan. I get excited just writing about it.
These are the kind of trips that open your mind and fill it with new memories and a new understanding of your place in the world. What travel teacher Rick Steves (an old friend of mine) calls “transformational travel.” Today, he says in a recent NYT podcast, “more people are travelling than ever before but there’s not more transformational travel.” We’re happy to report that our students are pushing back against this trend, though, and having a blast doing it.
Borromini Institute is proud to be a member of #TravelwithCanie, an initiative to help the study abroad sector reduce emissions while raising awareness around the intersection between climate action and international education. Find out more here.
