To ask you to stop flying

[Walkingthere]

We are facing a climate disaster. Our children will have to live through it. And yet I overheard two women today discussing how many holidays abroad they had been on this year. Both over 60 years of age. Obviously it will not directly impact on them.
This is also very common in my social group, people jetting off 4-5 times a year. Mini-breaks, weekends away, European trips, long haul, hen do's, weddings, birthdays. It's unbelievable how much people are burying their heads in the sand.

We need to stop flying. Urgently. Now. My family have not flown in over 5 years. We used to travel a lot, before we realised the consequences. I am putting this here, to make people think, we all need to urgently reduce (ideally stop) flying now.

This reminds me of the Anti-Fracking protestors near me, spend all day dicking about on a major A-road crying about fossil fuels being extracted from the earth and then march up to the massive farm field repurposed as a car park for their old bangers, climb into their battered 15yo diesel Mondeo smokers and drive home.....

Not going to happen, OP. Think of something more imaginative.

I see what you mean but I think it's hard to motivate regular people to change when there are so many celebs private jetting all over the world!

I don't fly. I also don't eat much meat.

It feels pretty pointless when the massive companies are belching out pollution.

I've just set my alarm for 04.45 tomorrow so I can get a bus to the station and a train at 06:01. I know that others at the meeting will say "why didn't you fly?" as I am not allowed to kill them I'll simply say because my grandson is nearly 11 and I want this planet to survive for him and his children.

I haven't been on an aeroplane in 15 years. Not about to start demanding other people do the same.

Some parts of my job involve me visiting my teams in the US and the Far East - that isn’t going to change. My PIL live in Canada and my DSil in the US - we visit them regularly. My family are in Belgium and we travel to see them by train when possible. Some things can’t change.

According to this, one child is equivalent, in carbon footprint, to about 20 transatlantic flights per year. An awful lot of people will have to stop flying to offset just one of your children.

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.independent.co.uk/environment/children-carbon-footprint-climate-change-damage-having-kids-research-a7837961.html%3Famp&ved=2ahUKEwi_kMeim9PiAhVSUBUIHTd4BfwQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw13RcZgUaOADTJVGDtTvCgQ&ampcf=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.independent.co.uk/environment/children-carbon-footprint-climate-change-damage-having-kids-research-a7837961.html%3Famp&ved=2ahUKEwi_kMeim9PiAhVSUBUIHTd4BfwQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw13RcZgUaOADTJVGDtTvCgQ&ampcf=1

For all that everyone whangs on about climate change, very few people are actually prepared to make the changes that are needed, so the response you’ve had to this, OP, does not surprise me. You’d get the same if you suggested people stopped eating meat or dairy, or didn’t have kids.

They can talk the talk but that’s all.

(And before anyone ask, I haven’t been on a plane since 2007, have 1 child and eat very little meat. No, I’m not being smug, I’m just saying this to forstall all the ‘and what are you doing, Cassian, hey HEY?’ Posts that would no doubt come my way otherwise.)

It’s why I’m sceptical about the school climate change protesters - I bet they’re jetting off on their hols that their parents have no intention giving up.

I agree OP. More people should be thinking about this. Short haul is the worst. We've pretty much stopped having the annual 2 weeks in the sun type of holiday every year and have decided to go on big long haul hols. to visit relatives and friends every two or three years. Has worked really well, are seeing much more of the wider world. This year it's Canada. Next one will be Australia in 3 years. In between times we have a camper van so can have cheap holidays with no flying.

I get you, OP. And I agree.

Struggle to believe some of the responses on here. "well I like my yearly trip to the states and I can only get there by plane so not much to be done about that". Umm.....how about choose not to go? Yearly long haul holidays aren't some kind of basic human right that can't possibly be infringed upon.

I get that some people might need to fly to see family occasionally but anyone who can't possibly contemplate sacrificing regular unnecessary flights is essentially saying that their temporary enjoyment and indulgence is more important than the future suffering of humans and animals as a result of climate change.

It amazes me the entitled responses some people give to being asked to take some responsibility for the state of our planet.

I would if the trains where cheaper. Only fly to see family and if I wished to other family members I need a boat and a months travel time...

Happily - except due to the U.K. leaving the EU I have had to move overseas for work and no train available. So if you reverse Brexit I’m in.

Maybe start with business meetings that could easily be done online. Every time a vote was required in Brussels re: Brexit, every MEP had to fly in to do it.

What about celebs/royalty who fly hairdressers/makeup artists thousands of miles because they have a wedding to go to or a premier to attend.

There are hundreds of examples that could be listed here, please don't point the finger at some retired people having a few well earned breaks.

Yes, things need to change and I hope we are not too late but you need to start at the right end of the string.

@ thetonsillolith - no they're not, they're just stubbornly going 'nope. I worked hard for my squillions of flights and have family far away so everyone who wants me to stop flying can sod off'
It's the I'm alright, Jack attitude.

It would take convincing every person on every flight to not go to make any effect, simply stopping one family won’t help as that flight will still go ahead. I agree with your reasons but I think banning flying isn’t the way to go, many people need to use it to visit family/work etc.

I have two DC. Not three. I am not pregnant. I will not be having another one.

The comments about my DC are unnecessary really, I cannot exactly undo having children can I? But I can continue to not fly.

So let’s get this straight...aside from my parents, all my family live in other countries. You are telling me, and many others in the world that we should never see them again? Miss out on weddings, births, funerals?

And the fact that some of us aren’t prepared to do that devastates you?

YANBU OP.

I don't know how we cure ourselves of our collective entitlement regarding flying, driving, piles of festive plastic tat, having as many children as we want, etc etc.

We are going to be incredibly badly judged by history (if there is any...I mean if we actually wipe out the human race I guess at least we won't be judged for it!).

People will look back on slavery, religious wars, the historic denial of rights to women, LGBT etc. as mere trifles in comparison to the mass extinction we are happily presiding over!

I don't care that my children's children will live/die in a barren world! I work hard and deserve my holidays abroad! WAHHHH!

No, you're not being unreasonable. We all have to make changes if we don't want to die in a horrible fiery mess, really.

My sister didn't fly for over fifteen years for this reason. It was actually looking like we would never see each other in real life again before we died. Fortunately she finally decided not to be quite so extreme.

It would be kind of others though to moderate their flights and use airplanes unnecessarily.

DH commutes to the US once a month and once there has to take several internal flights. We are environmentally aware but at the moment there is unfortunately no alternative.

Don't be silly, what else can these people put on Facebook?

Actually OP having children is the worst thing you can do for the environment, absolutely shits on flying

People do not NEED to fly...not for work or for family.

They WANT to fly...they feel they DESERVE to fly...but they don't NEED to.

Its exactly this mindset of entitlement that needs to be undone.