This weeks's QOTW by 
Are 'Eco-warriors' Hypocrites for Flying?
Before answering in detail, I would like to counter with the common extension: It all depends who it is, for what reason they're traveling, when and where they're going, and under which circumstances. Exactly! Things are generally not simply black or white.
What's Wrong With Flying Anyway?
So to back up a bit, the reason why flying is so frowned upon among climate advocates are the high carbon emissions associated with air travel, which is directly related to rising global temperatures. So clearly, if someone is preaching for curbing our emissions globally, they should lead by setting a good example, and hence find other, more environmentally sound travel solutions. Makes sense, right?
Okay, so let me tell you about this guy I once talked to, maybe ten years ago: He was genuinely concerned about some news he had heard regarding carbon footprints, and so he made the decision to skip out on having barbecues that summer. Though he had been looking forward to grilling season, his conscience wouldn't let him fire up the charcoal for a few steaks because of carbon emissions. I hope at least he felt good about saving the climate with his BBQ abstinence.
Now, before we shake our heads and call him a poor fool, let's take a relativist view and consider the big picture. While you might say that one simple charcoal grill doesn't make a huge difference globally, if the millions of barbecuers world wide stopped grilling outdoors it would make have a significant impact on the climate, right?
Okay, I hope now you'd be eager to point out that all the barbecues in the world combined in a year would not add up to one trans-Atlantic flight (Or would it? I don't have the numbers.). Or maybe that cooking those same steaks in an indoor kitchen would still result in the same amount of emission, maybe even worse. Or that it's not just how the steak is cooked, but how the cattle was raised, transported, the grill manufactured, assembled, the raw material for it extracted, etc. which is responsible for way more carbon emissions. Because this is exactly my point here, all of it!
The Problem is Not Just Flying
In my earliest childhood encounters with alleged "eco-warriors" I remember two issues that seemed to define the entire movement, almost to the point where it seemed that's what it was all about, entirely: one was stopping nuclear power, the other one was saving the whales. Clearly, there were other things as well, from acid rain to garbage problem, but to a five-year-old it seemed crystal clear that if we managed to turn off our nuclear power plants, all the whales would be safe, and we could live in a beautiful world.
What must it be like for a five-year-old today? Seeing how all those conscientious adults around them talk about nothing but the warming climate and airplanes, it must seem logical that if we all stopped flying we could soon build a snowman again.
It's All Relative
But of course, things are never that simple, no matter how much we'd like them to be. Let's not forget, the carbon that's affecting today's climate has been emitted... hahaha, probably around the time I first heard about whales and nuclear power. Also, many people like to point out that the carbon emitted by a simple burp of a volcano (such as the one on White Island, New Zealand, only last week) compares to all the flights around the globe in a similar way as the one trans-Atlantic flight to all the barbecues in the world.
Much more importantly, I'd like to point out that the carbon footprint of everything, not just flying, is a lot higher than we normally like to calculate. Let's look at the criticism Greta Thunberg faced for sailing across the Atlantic instead of flying. Critics kept pointing out the high carbon footprint of building the high-tech yacht she traveled on, as well as flying the crew, plus all the media journalists reporting on her, back and forth. Okay, so what would have been the alternative? Say, appearing at the UN via video chat? Certainly possible.
You Can't Please the Booh-sayers
Unfortunately being in the position she is in, she would have received the same criticism no matter what she does. In the case of a video chat, one could point out the infrastructure required to make it possible, including satellites, putting those into orbit, and the technology that's required for all that. Oh, and let's not forget the manufacture of not just the microprocessor in her computer, but the space vehicle for the satellite, as well as all the machinery for manufacturing all those machines. Then there is the extraction of raw materials, transporting them several times around the globe to process them, even before assembly can start. Considering all this, I would not hold it against Greta if she had flown to New York, maybe even in a charter plane, together with her whole media outfit.
If you've followed me so far it should be clear that in the end it's not just about the direct carbon emissions by aircraft engines or garden grills, just as it is not only about whales or polar bears. It's about soil erosion, it's about the acidification of oceans, it's about the disappearance of ancestral hunting grounds, it's about breeding superbugs that are resistant to all antibiotics, it's about poisoning the very food we expect to be nourished from, it's about beating our bright and creative population into submission by dependence on outside forces that may not even be real. Because the problems endangering our environment are just as physical, as they are chemical, biological, social, psychological, and economical, all linked inseparably.
Back to the Question
So in the end, do I think eco-warriors are hypocrites for flying? Sure they are. But in the same way, human rights activist are hypocrites for eating chocolate. In other words, it really doesn't matter, at least not as much as suggested from the attention it's given.
In fact, I would even go as far as saying that making such a big deal about flying is doing a disservice to what actually matters: transforming our exploitative system we find ourselves in, where people have no other option but to exploit themselves, each other, and the natural world around them, only to scrape by. Because by focusing on the two degrees Celsius temperature rise, all we are doing is treating symptoms, while the cause of the ailment continues wrecking havoc on our world.
That's it! This is what I usually like to bring up in passionate climate-related discussions. Thank you for sticking with me till the end. I hope it made some sense.
Please check out these great communities I'm contributing to:
#ecotrain | What is EcoTrain | Discord Community
#tribesteemup |The 8 Pillars of @TribeSteemUp
#team-mexico | Discord Community
