I think we forget that the amount we travel is a relatively new thing! I know people who take 3+ holidays a year because flying is so cheap, where for my parents generation, a holiday abroad might be a once every 3 YEAR activity!
Very true! That also makes me think of crypto and AI, two carbon-intensive fields that are both pretty new. I think in all cases, it's tough to close that Pandora's box once we get used to it.
I think it’s also a common tactic by the fossil fuel industry and its apologists to point to the insoluble emissions problems as a way of promoting climate nihilism. The fallacious argument goes, if we cant solve air travel (or concrete, or one of the other truly difficult problems), then why bother doing anything. Instead, we should—and must—insist on taking the easy actions we can do right now: building green energy, public transit infrastructure & bike lanes, incentivize or require electrification of appliances & buildings, and eliminate subsidies for fossil fuel extraction and use. We have to start somewhere, and thus far, we’ve barely started on the easiest measures. We can get to the problems of air travel later.
That's a great point. There is definitely some low-hanging fruit that we should work on in concert with actually sustainable aviation fuels and other aviation solutions. But I still think everything should be on the table — so long, as you said, the scope of the problem doesn't overwhelm us so much into inaction.
I think we forget that the amount we travel is a relatively new thing! I know people who take 3+ holidays a year because flying is so cheap, where for my parents generation, a holiday abroad might be a once every 3 YEAR activity!
Very true! That also makes me think of crypto and AI, two carbon-intensive fields that are both pretty new. I think in all cases, it's tough to close that Pandora's box once we get used to it.
Yes! Youre so right
I think it’s also a common tactic by the fossil fuel industry and its apologists to point to the insoluble emissions problems as a way of promoting climate nihilism. The fallacious argument goes, if we cant solve air travel (or concrete, or one of the other truly difficult problems), then why bother doing anything. Instead, we should—and must—insist on taking the easy actions we can do right now: building green energy, public transit infrastructure & bike lanes, incentivize or require electrification of appliances & buildings, and eliminate subsidies for fossil fuel extraction and use. We have to start somewhere, and thus far, we’ve barely started on the easiest measures. We can get to the problems of air travel later.
That's a great point. There is definitely some low-hanging fruit that we should work on in concert with actually sustainable aviation fuels and other aviation solutions. But I still think everything should be on the table — so long, as you said, the scope of the problem doesn't overwhelm us so much into inaction.