To feel I can’t holiday abroad again?

[backoffice]

I feel really guilty using air travel (although it’s so easy!) and used to travel by train through Europe wherever I could. Had a lovely trip planned in 2020 taking in several countries - but all went to pot!

Inter-Europe travel feels very dodgy now with Covid and lack of fresh air etc in carriages. Planes feel safer (shorter trips and good air circulation) but I’m too guilt-ridden because of the environmental impact. Cruises seem just as bad!

I can’t see a way of planning a safe and ethical holiday abroad now. AIBU? How are people justifying it?

@Annoyedanddissapointed

Ban junk mail, both the physical version and the endless stream of emails you receive because you look at a website. The energy use behind the servers that produce this is enormous.

Please someone make this into a regulation

It’s just a matter of opting out

I receive none
Opted out of all

@Marni83

I receive none Opted out of all

What so you never receive flyers of takeaway menus or window cleaning services?

@Marni83

I receive none Opted out of all

You cannot opt out of all.

Especially when companies seem to love to ignore "no oonger at this address"🙄

Oooh and ban the pricks who send advertising material in brown envelopes!

I was referring to electronic

The paper ones - I recycle

If electronic ignores
They are breaking the law

And you can report via a specific service

We've opted out. We still get two sets of all manner of flyers several times a week. We even get a leaflet for a convenience store 10 miles away, which is ridiculous.

You can't stop marketing emails unless you read and study all the cookies settings as you arrive at every website you look at. I'm sure the GDPR banned that, but they've clearly found a way round it.

@Frazzled2207 I do have kids. That why I take issue with being told I should feel responsible for the planet being fucked while others can do whatever they want. The planet is "fucked", I'm reading this from climate change activists constantly so it surely won't make a difference to my kids or grandkids.

** There are two important rules on marketing emails.

The sender must not hide their identity, and they must also provide a way for you to opt out of receiving further emails.**
Companies should not send you marketing emails without your permission.

You can report very easily via ofcom

www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/problems/tackling-nuisance-calls-and-messages/marketing-emails

@BarbaraofSeville

We've opted out. We still get two sets of all manner of flyers several times a week. We even get a leaflet for a convenience store 10 miles away, which is ridiculous.

You can't stop marketing emails unless you read and study all the cookies settings as you arrive at every website you look at. I'm sure the GDPR banned that, but they've clearly found a way round it.

You have to actively opt in to marketing emails

It’s the law

Nothing to do eith cookes

[quote noprofessional]@Frazzled2207 I do have kids. That why I take issue with being told I should feel responsible for the planet being fucked while others can do whatever they want. The planet is "fucked", I'm reading this from climate change activists constantly so it surely won't make a difference to my kids or grandkids.[/quote]
it's not completely useless. Planet has warmed by one degree, probably will rise to 1.5 but if we're lucky we can avoid it warming much further. 1.5 is very bad, 2 is terrible, 3 is catastrophic. The situation is bad but not totally useless. If everyone took your attitude though it would be.

I don't think it helps people feel like they can make a positive difference when you have people like backoffice dictating the way we must all behave ie give up air travel whilst ignoring the other contributions people can make. Personally I cannot give up air travel but I can reduce my meat and dairy consumption, and I can use solar energy. I don't beat myself or anyone else up about what they're not doing, it's better to focus on what is achievable even if it's just a small first step someone can take.

1) climate change activist folk like you say that planet is already fucked so...why would I bother now?
I think it is indeed already fucked up and we're done for. I can understand anyone who feels that it's totally pointless. I feel the same way too. But I have just enough of a spark of optimism to think that maybe if we change our habits as a society then my dd's home may only be burned down in a forest fire in 2052 rather than already in 2050!

@Butchyrestingface

Surely if you were that concerned about climate change and your carbon footprint you wouldn't have had kids in the first place?

Or pet dogs. But heaven forbid you tell anyone that they should not have a pet dog (or dogs).

@backoffice

I don’t understand the opening windows on trains either! Cross country trains don’t have opening windows? It’s all aircon.

Yes I have three children but between DH and I six siblings we’ve only had three children so I’ve made an overall reduction.

I don’t think the argument “well we’ve had children so there’s no point doing anything else” is very strong. The planet is fucked though. But I get that most people would rather have fun than make changes, or just feel that individual change is futile.

God, your passive aggressive sniping is so irritating.

You had children. You've already done much more damage to the planet by doing that than I have by flying all over the world. If you actually cared about climate change, you would have made a meaningful sacrifice like not having a family rather than trying to appear woke by boasting about how you're not going to go abroad anymore.

If you don't want to go abroad then don't. But bleating about how 'most people would rather have fun than make changes' is incredibly hypocritical coming from someone who has three children. You don't get to sit on your high horse.

The UK is opting out of GDPR 😂

@chocolatesaltyballs22

What about all of those people employed by the tourism industry? Do you not give a fuck about them? (Selflessly books lots of holidays to keep them in jobs, and also because I want to)

Nobody cared about the miners. If an industry isn't sustainable it has to stop and people have to get jobs doing other things.

@ravenmum

The UK is opting out of GDPR 😂

I think this is on the wrong thread, but it isn't. There was a consultation published last week, that's all. We're a very long way from opting out of GDPR.

^You have to actively opt in to marketing emails

It’s the law

Nothing to do eith cookes^

I have never opted in to a marketing email in my life. My email is 98% marketing emails from websites in many cases I haven't even bought anything from. How are they getting my email address if I haven't given it to them, but I looked at their website some time in the last day. It absolutely is about the cookies.

Well, the UK has already opted out of GDPR itself, as it's actually the Data Protection Act that now applies - which is indeed still the same as GDPR. There were reports here in Germany that the UK was going to change that, but it may just have been schadenfreude! Glad to hear that your "data subjects" are actually still safe :)

@parietal

go with the trains.

I'm also surprised that people don't think about climate when booking holidays abroad. they may fuss about organic food and not using plastic bags at the supermarket, but then fly 2 or 3 times a year just for fun. when flying has a MUCH bigger impact than all the other things.

what will it take to make people see flying as an antisocial activity?

Or a pp who boasts about taking her little girl all around the world so she can experience different cultures - cultures who will be probably be experiencing the effects of climate change at a more severe level than us, exacerbated by multiple flights. Maybe one trip will open their eyes to what’s going on so there’s less of a DGAF attitude? After all, it deeply affects the children

I’d love frequent flying to be seen as antisocial

@Marni83

I receive none Opted out of all

This thread has already produced 1 KG of CO2. You are adding to that just by powering up your phone or tablet and using it throughout the day.

Scroll down -
www.worldometers.info/

*You had children. You've already done much more damage to the planet by doing that than I have by flying all over the world. If you actually cared about climate change, you would have made a meaningful sacrifice like not having a family rather than trying to appear woke by boasting about how you're not going to go abroad anymore.

If you don't want to go abroad then don't. But bleating about how 'most people would rather have fun than make changes' is incredibly hypocritical coming from someone who has three children. You don't get to sit on your high horse.*

Having kids isn't a reversible decision though. It's possible to have had kids over a decade ago and now want to do more for climate change and encourage others to do so. You can't tell people that they are more selfish than you for a decision made several years ago when they may now be trying to do something positive, such as limit their carbon output if you are making decisions every day that have a negative impact just because, for whatever reason, you don't have kids.