This bar chart shows the percentage of the population living in urban areas, worldwide and on specific continents, from 1950 to 2030.
Overall, the percentage has only been rising from 1950 to 2030, with the most urbanized continent being North America followed by Latin America. Worldwide, the percentage has doubled.
While most continents have seen a surge in urban population from 1950 to 2007, sometimes doubling the percentage, the growth rate has slowed down between 2007 and 2030. Europe for instance has only grown by 6 points, while the 1950 to 2007 period saw an increase of 21 points, 3 times more.
Another key takeaway from this chart is the fact that in 1950, 3 continents (Africa, Asia and Latin America) had over half their population living in rural areas, but in 2030 none of the 5 shown continents do. 60% of the world population now live in urban areas.
Some people think that the increase in international travel has a negative
impact on the environment and should be restricted.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own
knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Plan:
- Intro (speak about the topic of environment and international travel)
- Paragraph 1: Why it is undeniable that international travel has a negative impact on the environment
- Paragraph 2: Why it shouldn't mandate a travel ban
- Conclusion
Our environment is fragile and its protection is without a doubt the most important discussion of the century. The topic of climate change has grown in the past few decades, but so has international traveling. While I agree with the analysis that international travel has a negative impact on the environment, I do not think that restricting said travel will have a positive impact.
All means of transportation have an impact on the environment. The vector of that impact can vary (carbon footprint, pollution, etc...), and the magnitude of it may too, but as careful as one can be, there is no such thing as a 100% clean travel. International travel implies long distances, most of the time using airplanes (which are very high carbon intensity). It is undeniable that international travel is responsible for some amount of damage done to the environment.
However, I would argue that applying a restriction to international travel would be both unfeasible and ineffective. It would be unfeasible firstly because it would be unconstitutional in most countries to restrict the movements of their citizens in and out of the territory (not even taking into account the riots such a policy would cause). I also think it would be ineffective to restrict international travel because the domestic transportation environmental impact simply overshadows that of international travel. Taylor Swift alone has the carbon footprint of a small country.
Overall, I would say that denying the impact of transportation would be disingenuous. I do however wholeheartedly believe that restricting international travel would not yield the results people might expect.
