Stories from the Ground

Once seen as a necessity and almost a personal right, flying is now a privilege, to be used sparingly, consciously, carefully. I'm still conflicted, trying to come to terms with my desire and existing commitments to be present as part of the global/national conversations taking place on climate change and care for the earth. However, I know deep in my heart, I can’t keep going as usual and pretend what I do doesn't matter…

My journey began by learning about the actual impact of flying, that over the course of a year all my hard-won carbon emissions reductions were dwarfed by a single cross country flight.

I thought, "I can't do this anymore. I'm concerned about climate change.” I honestly haven't found a good enough reason or justification, for what flying entails, in terms of planetary impact.

I had done the research on climate and flying, knowing about the impact for years. I’d be sitting in a plane, knowing how much fuel and CO2 are involved, and visualizing this stuff being chucked out the back, trying to get my head around that.

It’s been a process of education and seeing how massive the impact of flying is, and my own carbon footprint. It just becomes a question of integrity.