What´s the next best thing you can do if you can´t afford a winter trip to the Canary islands? For some people it would be to shame a person who can. Climate change has effectively put an end to the usual envious responses like, ”it´s too touristy for me” or ”sunbathing all day is not my cup of tea.” Of late the smug reply by anyone in need of offering such is a snide remark about climate change and flying. Before you read any further let me hasten to add that I am not a climate change denier and come out in full support of effective policies to address one of the greatest threats to our planet. Unfortunately belittling the argument for climate smart change by reducing it to a ´dog in the manger` level is not very helpful and possibly even counterproductive.
At a friend´s dinner party the other day I was asked about our recent trip to Australia. Before I had a chance to answer someone chirped in, ”how does that relate to being climate smart?” The person in question having once enjoyed the benefits of a university education could hardly have been in doubt as to the lack of options available , other than those at the disposal of Phineas Fogg, in reaching Australia from Sweden. So I shall leave it to whoever reads this to draw their own conclusions on why the question was asked. Without going down that path I merely pointed out that our 7000 kilometre trip from Darwin to Brisbane via Adelaide and Melbourne involved 4000 kilometres of rail travel and the 900 kilometres we flew from Adelaide to Melbourne were due to there not being a train on that particular day. The remaining 2000 kilometres from Brisbane to Cairns were by car as we wished to explore more of Queensland.
This answer effectively put an end to the climate shaming and at the same time any further discussion which in itself is a shame. Our justice of the climate was a little put out yet silent, giving everyone the impression that we were exonerated. This is rather silly as we prefer travelling by train or boat whenever possible with flying being the last resort. Kicking down is so much easier than kicking up and may be rewarding as a stimulant to the brain such as alcohol or coffee but is less effective when it comes to catalyzing change. Kicking up is rather more difficult and apart from requiring courage it is also best done with a healthy mix of passion and knowledge. A 16 year old Swedish girl has been showing us how it´s done.