Do you feel guilty about traveling by plane?

I have read notes from some people who feel guilty about flying because of climate change, and try to do it as little as possible.

I think that this is not a bad feeling, and not because we feel guilty but because we are aware that we should not fly without some compelling reason.

And whoever says to fly can say other things that until recently were part of our way of life. But that way of living has led us (and continues leading us) to situations of future disaster, which any moderately intelligent person should try to avoid.

We have greener alternatives for personal road trips, and we also know that public transport (train and bus) are more efficient and less polluting.

For trips of less than 1,000 kilometers we have the alternative of the train instead of the plane, and for all trips we should ask ourselves if we really need to do them, especially for the longer ones.

It is true that more than 80% of people do not travel by plane, and those who travel generate 2% of global pollutant emissions. The reduction of flying negatively affects the economy and positively the environment, and in the situation we are in, it is very difficult to find the right balance.

Governments are more interested in the economy and jobs because they want people to be happy and continue voting for them in the elections, and they send us positive messages to return to normality “before” Covid-19.

They know that their messages are a lie (and that in the long run we will all lose out) but they do not care because their interests go the other way and are always short-term.

It is the citizen organizations that should issue the warning messages that change the mentality of the people.

When we change, because I hope that one day we will change, it will be too late and the situation will be bad or worse, but humans are like that: selfish and short-term.

Meanwhile, if someone feels “guilty” for flying, it means that he is sensitized to the problem in front of us and that is not bad. And act as you see fit.

Finally, I have found a photo in a BBC article that I find interesting and shows the different options to reduce our carbon footprint, and that I attach here below

As an example, we can see that it is not much use to have a vegan diet if we do not help it with other CO2 reduction options.

Let each one inform himself as truthfully as possible and adjust his life according to his principles.