Other than not having kids, the number one thing we can do personally to slow climate change is to stop flying.
Flying is the privilege of a few; 95% of the people in the world have never taken a flight.
With each flight we take, we are condemning poor people to a harder life because of climate change.
Our demand for quick and easy flights is leading to the drastic expansion of the aviation industry: worldwide more than 420 new airports, 121 new runways, 205 runway extensions, 262 new terminals and 175 terminal extensions are currently being planned or under construction.
Every domestic flight we take makes us responsible for 2-3 tons of carbon each (more for international flights). Every ton of of CO2 melts enough glacial ice to fill a large fridge.
There is no such thing as sustainable aviation. Any gain in efficiency made by the aviation industry is far far far offset by increases in numbers of flights. And don’t buy into carbon offsets – it is a scam.
Here is a snapshot I just took from Flight Aware’s Live Flight Tracker. Thousands of airplanes flying around each emitting hundreds of tons of CO2.
We must stop this insanity, and recreate our lives so we no longer fly. Slow travel (via train, bike, walking, car if we must) is fun. Living closer to our families and friends is good for us. Staying home and appreciating and enjoying our immediate surroundings is healthy. If we can reframe no-flying perhaps we’ll discover that it’s actually a better life.
Data from the Flying Less Movement: http://en.forumviesmobiles.org/caletrio/blog/2018/03/22/flying-less-movement-12396
Flight Aware Live Flight Tracker: https://flightaware.com/live/
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