I haven’t flown since 2015 and have no plans to fly again anytime in the near future. Before I die I would like to go on a hiking tour of Scotland Ireland and Wales, and I would happily take passage on a ship to get there if it was an option - otherwise I’ll fly one more time before I die.
My carbon footprint is likely a fair bit smaller than most, but I do keep a dog companion and that is certainly a luxury that uses a lot of resources. I also have to use the AC a fair bit of the time in summer now, because the heat index is just too much for me a great many days. Other than when I lived in Arizona, I’ve never been one to use the AC much if at all - we didn’t have it when I was growing up here in eastern Mass, except a bowl of ice placed in front of the box fan - as I much prefer open windows, fresh air and birdsong to being shut up inside with artificial air. One of the things I am saddest about is how climate change has made so much of summer something to be endured rather than enjoyed.
We need massive change in many areas to effectively address emissions and the climate crisis. First we need to discard wholesale the notion that we can have economic growth everlasting. We need to revamp our world to foster SUSTAINABILITY, and that will require a very different mindset from our present one of CONSUME and WASTE. It would mean huge lifestyle changes for billions of people living in developed nations enjoying a standard of living that obscenely abuses the natural world.
So I don’t believe we will do what is necessary to halt emissions and hold the climate crisis to the already present levels of catastrophic weather events and ongoing mass extinction of flora and fauna. Because I’m writing this post as I sit watching the petty games of people unfolding in the US Congress today and I know that human beings don’t have the capacity to engage in the wide scale change and self denial and discipline and COOPERATION that would be required to get us there as soon as is necessary.