According to scientists we are starting to run out of oil. This is the reason why fuel prices are continuing to escalate and why according to The Daily Mail we are set to all die a horrible death in 2012 which will fulfil ancient Mayan predictions…Realistically, it’s not quite that bad but it can’t be denied that fuel prices are getting out of hand.

There is therefore an increasingly compelling argument suggesting that we should all just accept the inevitability of the situation and start buying cars with fuel economy in mind. We will then benefit from the obvious fuel savings, tax breaks offered by government and according to Moneysupermarket.com we also stand to get a 5% discount from the majority of car insurance firms which will save the average driver £45 per year. The only question remaining is what is the right environmental car for you? Contrary to popular opinion, environmental cars are no longer hideous things that look like trainers which went around during the early part of the past decade (the award winningly hideous G-Whiz), the majority of them actually look no different from conventional road cars. Here is a list of the five best environmental cars available on the UK market:

5. Citroen C2 Diesel

The Citroen C2 is not a bad car. It is probably the best looking of the Citroen small car range and given its advanced fuel economy it is in direct competition with Citroen’s bitter rival Renault with their Clio. The car is a diesel, which goes some way to explaining the 68.9 mpg it is capable of, although this is still very impressive. The engine is solid and it comes equipped with a ‘stop/start’ engine feature, where the engine will temporarily shut itself off when at traffic lights in order to save fuel. This might be a bit a pain when the lights go green though, and would surely warrant a couple of gestures from your fellow motorists.

There are also other problems, as the interior is rather flimsy and the space available for your shopping and passengers is almost non-existent. The C2 also has a number of reliability concerns, with engine management and suspension problems having been reported by customers.

4. Renault Clio Diesel

The Clio is also a diesel, which again goes some way to explaining its good fuel economy. Nevertheless 67.3 mpg is impressive, but not quite as impressive as the Citroen C2. Another element where the Renault falls short of the Citroen is that the Clio has continued the Clio tradition of the ‘Clio rattle’. This is an infamous feature where the car will constantly emit an annoying rattling sound when in motion which you can never locate.

However, in every other way the Clio is superior to the C2. It continues the positive Clio tradition of being rather pretty and reliability is much improved compared with previous models, as the gearbox actually works this time. The interior is far less flimsy despite the rattle and the engine and handling give it an edge over the Citroen. The Renault Clio 1.5 DCi is therefore a good precursor to Renault’s electric vehicle fleet due for introduction in the UK in time for the Olympics in 2012.

3. Nissan Leaf EV (Electric vehicle)

This will be Nissan’s first mass produced all electric vehicle. The Nissan Leaf is capable of 92 mph, which is more than enough on UK roads, and has a range of 200 miles between charges which is enough to get the average driver to work and back every morning. On top of this it looks very modern and is probably the best looking of the five cars on the list. The space available is also more than adequate despite the size of the Lithium batteries and it is remarkably quiet. You might therefore expect it to cost an arm and a leg but it doesn’t as Nissan have priced it aggressively, making it available from £23,350. This may seem a lot, but when you consider that you will not have to pay tax, will get discounted insurance and will save over £1,500 per year on fuel, this doesn’t seem so bad.

The Leaf should therefore be the number one choice, and you may be confused why it is in at number 3. The reason for this isn’t Nissan’s fault, it is actually the governments. The Leaf’s 200 mile range is admirable if you have a place to charge it, but unfortunately the charging point infrastructure in this country is pitiful. The government has pledged £11 million in funding to address this problem, but unfortunately the improved infrastructure won’t be completed until 2015. By this time other manufacturers will have electric cars to rival the Leaf and it may no longer hold the edge on them. The Leaf may therefore be a car ahead of its time.

2. Honda Insight Hybrid

The Insight is the first hybrid petrol car on this list, and in direct competition with Honda’s arch rival Toyota. It is capable of an unbelievable 83.1 mpg, which is almost 12 mpg more fuel efficient than Toyota’s alternative. On top of this there is more than enough space for passengers and the interior is very sturdy. The car also benefits from Honda’s legendary reliability and is available from new for £16,000, which is only marginally more expensive than the far less fuel efficient Ford Focus.

So why isn’t the Honda ahead of the Toyota? It all stems from the harmony between the electric and petrol engines. With the Insight, the change over from electric to petrol engine is obvious in that it is noisy and it makes the car judder. To add to all of this, the engine is hideously underpowered.

1. Toyota Prius

The Prius was the first hybrid available way back in 1996 and it sparked a green car revolution. Before too long the Prius became the first choice for any celebrity who wanted people to think they are environmentally concerned. Its appearance is decent but no better than the insight, the fuel efficiency isn’t quite a match for the Insight but is still very impressive, while the same story can be said for the £16,500 price tag which is good for what you are getting but still not as good as the Insight.

As was mentioned with the Insight, the big difference is the engine. Toyota has had years to perfect the cross over between the electric and petrol engines making it seamless, and therefore Honda is still playing catch up. The ride of the Prius is therefore smooth and comfortable, which ensures that it is still the best green car available. However, Toyota had better keep an eye out as their rivals are closing in. Cars such as the Leaf are the future and it is time for Toyota to stop resting on their laurels and respond.

The first ever flight in Latin America to use aviation biofuel took off from Rio de Janeiro earlier this week – could this be a sign of change in the continent’s battle against carbon emissions?

The Airbus A320, which was manned by two TAM pilots and carried 18 technicians and executives, flew over the Atlantic Ocean for 45 minutes before returning safely to ground – powered by a 50:50 mix of Brazilian-produced biofuel and traditional kerosene.

TAM says all the biomass used in the flight was produced from the Jatropha curcas, a poisonous tree which is native to Central America. Because the plant can grow on semi-arrid wasteland and cannot be eaten either by animals or man, it is being heralded by TAM and Airbus as an environmentally sound source of biofuel. If you are going on holiday in South America then the chances are that the journey there will be the biggest contributor to your carbon footprint, so any way to reduce this is a move in the right direction.

Studies have shown that biofuels made from Jatropha cucas typically emit between 65 per cent and 80 per cent less Co2 than traditional petroleum-derived aviation kerosene – a significant drop by any standards.

Libano Barroso, president of TAM Airlines, said: “The involvement of TAM in this experimental flight shows our contribution in a vast project for the development of the production chain for this vegetable biomass biofuel, with the purpose of creating a Brazilian platform for sustainable aviation bio-kerosene.”

Encouraged by the results of this initial test, TAM is planning to plant crops of Jatropha curcas at its technological centre outside Sao Paulo.

“The goal of this unit will be to conduct technical and economic feasibility studies to start the implementation of an integrated value chain in Brazil, with the aim of producing biofuel based on Jatropha curcas oil, from the production of raw material to the distribution of bio-kerosene.”

Commenting on the news, Head of New Energies for Airbus, Paul Nash, said: “This should serve as evidence of the aviation industry’s commitment to advance on the CO2 reduction targets that it set for itself – Carbon Neutral growth from 2020, working towards 50 percent C02 reduction by 2050.”

While any move to reduce carbon emissions from aviation should be welcomed, environmentalists will be greeting the news with caution. Mass scale of production of biomass in Brazil and other Latin American countries has led to the widescale destruction of rainforests, as land is cleared to grow crop plants – effectively removing the trees and plants that are the planet’s greatest asset in the fight against carbon and greenhouse gases.

Sustainable tourism must go mainstream if the travel industry is to stand a chance of tackling climate change and poverty, a leading environmental pioneer has warned.

Campaigner, writer and former Friends of the Earth boss, Tony Juniper, made the claim at the opening of the World Responsible Tourism Day in London last week.

Speaking as part of the World Travel Market industry conference, Juniper told an audience of travel industry professionals that unless mainstream operators use their multi-billion pound spending power to market sustainable options, some of the world’s most precious destinations would be lost.

“It is not just a morally lauded choice, it is in our long-term interest,” he warned, spelling out the threat climate change poses to destinations from the ski resorts of Europe to Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Maldives holidays.

Jupiter warned that in order for the travel industry to make a significant contribution to the fight against environmental destruction, green tourism has to become more than just a travel choice for the affluent middle classes. He called for delegates to “step up and create that change” by making sustainable tourism a mainstream option as well as just an aspirational choice.

While Jupiter acknowledges that there aren’t currently any technologies available to make air travel carbon-free, he told the audience that the travel industry could be doing more to to reduce carbon emissions on the ground. Rather than employing the mindset that green travel is a specialist niche with nothing to do with them, anyone involved in the travel and tourism industry should be using technologies such as low-carbon buildings and electric vehicles as standard, Jupiter said.

While the World Tourism Day events attracted a large audience of senior professionals from across the travel industry as a whole, it’s apparent there is still a very long way to go before green travel goes mainstream. On the same day that Tony Jupiter issued his timely warning to the industry, the boss of one of the biggest Caribbean hotel groups admitted his hotel group does nothing at all to measure its carbon footprint.

Sandals boss, Adam Stewart, said measuring carbon emissions is irrelevant during a heated panel debate: “There’s zero relevance if I walk into our hotels in the six islands we operate in and say my carbon footprint is this but every single hotel tracks diesel and LPG usage,” Stewart told the BBC’s Stephen Sackur. Let’s just hope Jupiter wasn’t there to hear the comment or he may just wish he’d stayed in bed!

Planning a safari holiday can certainly be a daunting task. However these plans become perhaps more complex when taking our moral duty to the environment into account. So what can we do to plan a safari holiday that is not only respectful of the community and environment we plan to visit, but also provides the unforgettable experience we all desire when taking a safari. Whether you want to discover profoundly different cultures or see some of Africa’s most spectacular landscapes, you can still do this without sacrificing your values.

There are a few of ways you can make your safari holiday a more rewarding experience for both you and your party as well as the inhabitants of your destination. One of the most obvious ways to reduce your negative effect on the environment is through your travel preferences. Clearly the most practical way to travel to your chosen safari destination is by plane. We are all aware of the burden placed on the ozone layer by air travel, but we often see it as the most feasible and indeed desirable way of getting to our holiday destination. Take a safari holiday in Kenya for example. Many of us will all too readily reach for the cheapest flight to Nairobi or Mombasa, without looking into more sustainable methods of transport. However if you do have to take that long haul flight, make sure that the holiday you have booked is a responsible one.

While the dangers of air travel to our climate are well documented, there are other ways in which we can act more responsibly when taking a safari holiday. When discussing matters of ecotourism, it is often forgotten that the people who live in the environment we choose to visit are in fact as important as the land in which they live. We can all make small changes in the way we plan, travel on and enjoy our holidays that will not only make for a more authentic experience for us as holiday makers, but also those who host us in their homeland.

Take for example, Botswana safaris. For starters, consider hiring a local guide rather than an ex-pat. Not only will you be putting money back into the local community, you might also learn a few secrets that would never even occur to an ex-pat guide. Rather than buying the imported goods that we are accustomed to in the West, try to bridge the cultural and language barriers by buying local produce that puts your money firmly in the pocket of the locals and not in the corporate accounts of global corporations. So when you’re offered a bowl of madazi for breakfast while on your safari holidays in Kenya, don’t turn up your nose at it in favour of a full English and give it a go. And when thinking of souvenirs for your loved ones at home try the wooden carvings of the Masai tribes rather than spending all your hard earned money on duty-free airport goods.

In any case the key to travelling responsibly, particularly while on Safari is to think about and engage with the environment you are visiting. All too often we are content to ponder what our tourist destinations have to offer us, when we could really be thinking about how we are able to maximise our positive effect on these environments.

Travellers are rediscovering an appetite for international travel after the global economic downturn, new figures revealed this week.

Data released by the World Travel & Tourism Council shows that globally, the GDP generated by travel and tourism is expected to increase by 2 per cent in 2010. While it might sound like a small increase, when compared to the original growth estimate of just 0.5 per cent issued at the beginning of the year, it is actually fairly significant.

Numbers shared by the United Nations World Tourism Organization for the first nine months of the year also show a 7 per cent increase in international arrivals year-on-year, which seems to back-up the trend.

The figures have been revealed as part of the World Travel Market conference being held in London this week. Over 40,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press members have gathered at Excel to discuss the state of the travel industry and emerging trends.

At first glance, an increase in international travel might seem like bad news for the green travel movement. More air travel leads to increased carbon emissions, which has been proven to increase greenhouse gases in the environment.

But while it seems consumers are rediscovering a desire to travel, the recession has had an impact on the type of holidays people are choosing. People are not only looking for better value for money from travel providers, or discount vouchers for money off their break, but they are choosing different types of experiences.

According to the WTM Global Trends Report 2010, one emerging trend is that of rich Americans switching luxury holidays for “deprivation breaks.” It seems US consumers are turning their backs on five star luxury in favour of self-improvement courses and breaks.

World Travel Market Chairman, Fiona Jeffery, said: “The age of austerity has seen consumers, including and maybe even especially the well off, shun excess in favour of more wholesome, sustainable living.”

This shift towards more meaningful holiday experiences is very much in line with the principles of sustainable tourism, which aims to ensure tourism benefits communities in destinations as well as providing a rewarding experience for travellers.

While this might be a spit in the ocean of travel as a whole, it is at least a step in the right direction. We will be watching very closely to see how the trend takes shape in the UK over the coming months and years.

The National Trust would like to see more of us on camping, cycling, walking or surfing holidays in the UK, rather than hopping on a cheap flight to the sun.

Schools should send pupils on camping trips to the countryside and doctors should prescribe invigorating walks, the Trust’s director Dame Fiona Reynolds said this weekend.

Dame Reynolds was speaking ahead of the launch of a new National Trust campaign, Outdoor Nation, which aims to encourage Brits to “re-connect” with nature and discover the health benefits of the great outdoors.

She believes that sending children on camping trips would teach them to be more self reliant and allow them to experience something totally different from their everyday lives.

But its not just young people or those from socially deprived backgrounds who are suffering from a lack of access to fresh country air, according to those behind the campaign. As a nation of city-dwelling urbanites, the Trust says adults are also losing their connection with the great outdoors.

According to the Outdoor National launch video, the average Brit watches 160 minutes of television a day and 36 per cent of adults are too tired to do anything after work other than slump on the sofa.

Dame Reynolds told The Guardian: “It’s urgent we reconnect people. We’re breeding a society that’s less confident about exploring, less confident about going to places we haven’t been to before.

“There is evidence that people who are brought up in big cities are scared and see the countryside as a place full of unfamiliar and unexpected things. It’s becoming this great unknown, alien place.”

So should we all be ditching the city breaks in favour of UK holidays in the great outdoors? The Trust thinks so. Panellists and members at their Annual General Meeting this weekend agreed that “we need greenery and wild places in our lives as much as we have ever done, perhaps more so.”

One of the aims of the Outdoor Nation campaign is to raise awareness of the National Trust’s work in the open air. It says most people think of the National Trust as an organisation that looks after stately homes, when in fact it also takes care of gardens, parks, hills and coastlines.

As part of the campaign, a “roaming reporter” will be touring the UK interviewing Brits about their experience of the great outdoors. Whether they convince more of us to ditch the remote and don the boots remains to be seen – especially when you consider the weather we’re having this week!