A reality check for those concerned about flying and climate change

[Jeffrey Kunst]

Like some in the travel media and industry, in the back of my mind I have for some time been a bit uneasy about the role we play in promoting travel - especially via air - inasmuch as it seems to contribute to further polluting the environment and especially increasing carbon emissions that promote climate change.

Well, the other day I came across a post in the online Daily Beast called "Why Your Carbon Footprint Is Meaningless," which among many other things points out that "transportation is responsible for another 14 percent of emissions. Does that mean you shouldn’t take your next vacation, as some well-intentioned writers have seriously suggested? Of course not. First, commercial aircraft account for only 7 percent of transportation-related emissions." And furthermore, "if you run the numbers, it’s obvious that even if every do-gooder in the world changed their light bulbs to fluorescents, stopped going on vacation, and bought carbon offsets for every art project they built at Burning Man, none of this would make a dent in global carbon dioxide emissions."  The only thing that will is to achieve reform of "collective enterprises like power grids, industry, and transportation systems" such as cars and trucks - and underlying it all, the fossil-fuels industry.

Does this make me feel better about being a travel writer? Certainly. But it also makes logical sense. We need to concentrate our efforts in advocating for the most effective global solutions that will have mass impact, not tie ourselves in knots about traveling several times a year, or encouraging others to do so. What do you think?

(Read the full article here: https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-your-carbon-footprint-is-meaningl...)