Travel and tourism represented approximately 10% of total global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2016. That’s an estimated US $7 trillion; The global travel and tourism industry, directly or indirectly, creates approximately 11% of the world’s employment and creates 8% of the Global Green House Gas Emissions.  To help us understand more about the industry, its importance and impacts, and sustainable alternatives to the increasingly polluting industry, we have Aishwarya Phadke, the founder of Travel Dirty, a venture that makes travel more experiential and sustainable.  How important is travel to our species, how polluting are vacations really, how do we try to be sustainable every time we decide to step out the door, and indeed, what it even means to be a tourist, are questions I attempt to unearth in this weeks episode of what unearth.