Freeconomy Blog
Wed
19 Dec
Flying...
| 2 comments |
I recently had the good fortune of seeing a band called Seize the day play in Bristol. They are one of those bands who seem to have that rare art of producing wonderful music while backing it up with some of the most insightful lyrics I have ever heard. And that's not something I say lightly as I am a man who likes his lyrics.
One of the songs they sung that night was on a subject I feel quite strongly about now - flying. Like me, they have also taken a vow to never fly again. But the beautiful thing about the song is that it's not judgmentally telling everyone its wrong to fly. In it they question the strength of their own conviction by aking themselves whether or not they would take that flight if one of their loved ones overseas needed them urgently.
The song does however outline a few key points. One is that in order for us to stabilise the atmosphere, we each need to cut our carbon emissions to between 1-2.5 tonnes a year. Considering the government already uses 2 of those tonnes per capita on our behalf on street lights and fighting wars, it doesn't leave a lot left.
But here's the crunch bit - when you take a flight to Sydney, Australia from the UK it consumes 10 tonnes per passenger. Thats 5 times your complete allowance for the year in one fell swoop. And considering taking off uses the most fuel, even an short distance flight has probably used up the carbon pocket money the government has left you. Flying truly is a climate crime.
This Christmas is the first chance for me to put my vow into practice. A flight to Ireland takes 40mins. By land from Bristol, UK to my hometown it is 24hrs. My life is quite busy these days so I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross my mind for a minute to go to fryinair.com or sleazyjet.com. But I asked myself how on earth can I encourage others not to fly if I do exactly that myself. Be the change and all that.
But for me all it really takes is a change of perspective. Tonight I'm starting my hitch home to Ireland, and I'm so looking forward to the adventure. Getting to Wales, getting on the overnight ferry and being on the ocean when it's dark, getting off at the crack of dawn and making my way from one small town in the south-east to another in the north-west, in a country that has become to wealthy to need good public transport. I never get excited about flying and I am going to do so much reading.
But hey, I am not saying it's wrong to fly. I myself wonder how unwavering I would be about my vow if something happened a loved one whilst I'm walking to India, though at this moment I believe I would stay true to it even then. All I am saying is that if we genuinely want to turn this situation around, if we want our children to inherit a safe and healthy planet, we are going to have to kick this habit very soon.
We lose so much of the adventure in life by flying. Just like life, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey.
Comment on this Post:
Connie comments ...
I find this very interesting and I took note of the comment you made about getting a flight from Sydney to the UK. I live in Sydney and something that needs to be taken into consideration is that there are not many options for people wanting to travel out of Australia to go to other parts of the world. It’s not like Europe where you could drive or catch a train etc, we are quite remote from the rest of the world. I am one who tries to cut down on carbon emissions, I don’t drive and try to walk or take public transport whenever possible, but unfortunately with some things there isn’t a choice.
Good luck on your travels and I hope the light in all people shines on you in this time =)
Rachel Fox comments ...
A vow not to fly...made me think...I haven’t flown for years. I used to fly a bit but then I had a panic attack halfway between Germany and England...believe me even the shortest flights can seem long that way!
I often feel like a freak not flying in this society (’what do you mean you don’t want to zoom around all the time - going everywhere..seeing nothing...’) so I always feel reassured by people such as yourself making the decision for different reasons.
I have lots of poems about travelling...one called ’Not flying today’ for example. All on www.crowd-pleasers.net if you’re interested...and therefore all free.
All the best with the trip and the journey and the adventure
Rachel Fox
