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Eco Friendly Holidays In Lanzarote

By Dave Talbot

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 25Jan2010 Word count: 682 Viewed: 1431 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

The ongoing (if unproven according to some experts) effects of global warming are causing an ever increasing number of tourists and holidaymakers to re-assess there choice of holiday destination. Coupled with the current economic squeeze (which will be here for some time to come) choosing a holiday destination closer to home can be both cheaper on the pocket and at the same time be more environmentally friendly.

As a major holiday destination the island of Lanzarote (which is in the Canarian archipelago) quite possibly at first glance may not appear to have altogether the best of green credentials, however, there are a number of ways in which it does well to beat other destinations hands down for holidaymakers looking to reduce their carbon footprint and remain environmentally conscious.

Air travel is said to be a major contributor to green house gases so to begin with the fact that the islands location is only four hours flight from the United Kingdom (and a little more for mainland Europe) means that it is half the distance, and therefore half the fuel consumption, of the Caribbean. That doesn't mean you have to compromise on the weather though, as Lanzarote can vie with tropical islands for all year round good weather. With an average of only twenty days rainfall per annum there is also no monsoon season to deal with, and you can enjoy day time temperatures of approximately 20º Celsius even in the mid winter months.

Across the island many of the self catering apartments and holiday villas on Lanzarote already use eco-friendly solar panels to produce heated water for their swimming pools as opposed to electrical heating, whilst larger consumers of water, which tend to be the leisure attractions such as the island's two golf courses, use recycled liquid to ensure that demand on the desalination system is minimised wherever possible. Alternative energy sources such as wind power are also popular, with commercially several large turbines generating a sizeable proportion of the island's electricity requirements and this is also reflected in the smaller turbines used by individual premises.

But it isn't simply businesses and accommodation on Lanzarote that adopt the green ethos and operate on a more eco-friendly basis. Eco friendly development has been in place for many years on the island and even the tourist attractions have been both planned and developed to work as much in harmony with their surroundings as is reasonably possible. This low impact ethos was the result of one man's visions, and as such his creative intervention in the island's development came just at the right moment.

The internationally renowned architect and artist, César Manrique, was actually born on Lanzarote and returned to his home after a spell in New York in the late 1960's. His unique talents and his blend of architecture with art were employed in the creation of the seven centres of art and culture that help to provide visitors with an insight into the lives of past and present residents. These centres have been devised to be both visually appealing and environmentally sensitive so if you are visiting Lanzarote make some time to visit some of these modern but harmonious additions to the surrounding landscape.

However, Manrique's creations were only one side of this geniuses talents, he was also well ahead of the crowd and was instinctively tuned and had a perceptive vision of how tourism could if remaining unchecked would spoil the natural beauty of the island. Especially if unrestricted development was allowed to get a foothold. So he worked alongside the government of Lanzarote to ensure that any buildings constructed were only of a certain height and that advertising was banned from public spaces.

The combination of all of the above factors have turned Lanzarote into an ideal holiday destination for the environmentally conscientious. There are even several places to stay that run entirely on solar and wind energy, as these alternative sources of power have gained in popularity and effectiveness in recent years.

Eco holidays in Lanzarote are a true reality and are here to stay.

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