Learning how much flying pollutes changed everything for me.
When I realized that flying coach round trip to LA or Europe put me near or over the limit of what a person is alloted to keep below 1.5 - 2 degrees Celcius for a year, not to mention all the other pollution jet fuel and traveling causes, I gave myself a challenge: no flying for at least 365 days. Everyone has his or her values and I'm not saying what anyone else should do, but I value taking responsibility for how my actions affect others.
One of the best choices I've ever made in my life! I'm nearing month 16 and expect to extend it as long as I can.
Choosing to live by your values pays off more than anything else. At first I thought it would be hard, and it was, but it got easier as I found ways to explore different cultures and cuisines, create adventure, and get all I used to get from traveling without polluting.
I no longer feel like I'm avoiding traveling so much as enjoying where I live, the way homo sapiens did for most of our 300,000 year history.
Here are a couple pieces I wrote about it:
http://joshuaspodek.com/365-days-flying-definition-impossibilityhttp://www.inc.com/joshua-spodek/365-days-without-flying.htmlAmong the benefits:
- Community and connecting with people near me
- Increased ability to find and create experiences I like
- Increased ability to find and create emotions I like
- Learning to cook with local ingredients more
- More time with family
- Less dependence and craving things outside my control
- and more
... oh yeah, saving money.
I recommend trying it. Had I not experienced the personal growth, I wouldn't have believed it. I'm amused how people think it's impossible or get angry about it, but that's their business.
Round trip NYC-Paris coach:
Round trip NYC-Shanghai coach:
Round trip NYC-Shanghai first class:
Source for graphs