Mount Unpronouncable, (Eyjafjallajokull) the volcano in Iceland, has a case of heartburn again and the atmosphere is feeling the effects of its chronic belching. Some airports have been closed once more and everyone in the airline industry is concerned about another period of chaos.
It is troubling to see all that volcano junk flying around in the air, but did you know that by shutting down thousands of flights the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was dramatically reduced for a week? Just by zipping around on planes we easily out-pollute an erupting volcano.
I don't consider myself a frequent flyer, but by the end of July I will have flown considerable distances three times, once on vacation and twice for conferences. I feel guilty as hell, almost literally. I can't help but feel that the most significant sin I will commit this year doesn't show up on the list of Seven Deadlies, but should be added.
It's fine for a minister to encourage following Jesus' example and teaching about simplicity, but when I see stats like these I feel more than a tad hypocritical.
What are your thoughts about all this? Should I lighten up?
9 comments:
Lighten up, man.
In all other respects you are an eco-champion (your blog focus, your personal example) so rest easy.
Also, despite your frequent gym visits, I'd hazard a guess that you'd have a REALLY hard time getting to those places on foot ...!
I'm hoping that this will let me stay in Europe a bit longer, but it's not affecting the Netherlands region at the moment. I am looking forwards to coming home though.
I think if we all do our part in other ways on a daily basis, we shouldn't feel guilty when we fly. The reality in todays society is that in order to visit with family and friends, we often do have to fly. I have siblings in four different provinces and territories and three different time zones. Even though we visit through SKYPE, we still have to fly to see one another. Yes, we could drive but then we have to look at time factors.
Here's an interesting website that has pictures of the volcano.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/more_from_eyjafjallajokull.html
hom_eyjafjallajokull.html
This is the part of the website that keeps cutting off when I post it, hope you can make sense of the two pieces together.
Flying is not one of my favourite pastimes, however as Ian says, sometimes our feet and our cars will just not get us to where we want or need to go. We all can do our parts in so many different ways to be eco-friendly, so when we have to take the plane or grab the odd bottle of water, we should not beat ourselves up about it.
Hey Christopher...travel safely!
I struggle like you do David, not only about flying but about picking and choosing the most convenient/ "easiest" ways for me to make a difference. I know we still have to live, and sometimes I look to others who don't think anything about these things in the choices they make, and wonder why I bother(what difference does one person make?) but I do.
But we do have only a short time on this earth and hope to experience lots in that time...so I reconcile, as others who have commented seem to, by carrying on conscientiously and intentionally,substituting better choices when I can, but not without some guilt for me,for the things that I don't do.
As Ian said, it is a LONG walk for you to the east coast, and otherwise, and the wisdom and experiences you'll garner helps you and helps us all so not a frivolous choice.
I don't believe in a God of guilt, I think He's rooting for our "successful" lives so perhaps we do need to lighten up on ourselves, at times.
That was actually one of my initial thoughts after the initial chaos of the erupting volcano - that although there is volcanic ash spewing into the sky, at least there are a lot fewer planes flying around.
When you compare the volcano to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, I'll take the former. At least it is a natural disaster and not something caused by humans.
Don't worry about flying, David - most of us do it. I think if we all do the small things day to day, like picking up litter, turning off lights, not idling our cars, that more than makes up for it.
However, if you're flying to these places on the United Church private jet, then we need to talk!
I thought the private jet was a well-kept secret. And I do spend time on the rowing machine at the gym...
Thanks, gang, for your pastoral responses, although I will continue to muse over all this.
The photos Nancy gives the link for are well worth checking out.
And Christopher, we hope you are having a meaningful and fun time as part of what may be the last official celebration of Canadian veterans in the Netherlands, but we do want you back!
I struggle constantly with how travel affects the environment. I know that flying is one of the biggest contributors of carbon in our air. I try constantly to travel by other means, like driving or by train, and sometimes I forego trips because the only way to go is by air.
The only time I fly now is for meetings in Toronto. I joined a national committee and it means flying 3-4 times a year. Before I joined this committee, I hadn't flown in a long time. I am hoping the United Church will find new and creative ways to have these meetings so we don't have to meet so often. I have wondered whether I could go by train, but it does add 3-4 days of time away. *sigh* I do believe that it is an important issue and I will continue to struggle with it.
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