I have flown on a lot of airplanes in my life. They have taken me to spectacular places, let me keep in touch with far-flung friends and family, and enabled some of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had.On all the trips I took, I never thought about the effect that the emissions from my flying were having on our planet—which is ridiculous.I’ve been worried about climate change for decades. I don’t have children. I grow much of my own produce. I am eating more of a plant-based diet. I wash and redeploy every plastic bag I use. But it wasn’t until I started following the activism of Peter Kalmus and George Monbiot that I learned that one of the most helpful lifestyle changes I could make was not to fly.My goal right now is to reserve the rest of my lifetime plane travel only for visits to see my father and to get to a few specific places I have always wanted to see. I will figure out how to use trains, boats, buses, and cars to get everywhere else.I think some people might see not flying at will as a sacrifice. But if it is, it’s one that you can only make if you are privileged enough to have the option of flying in the first place. And it’s a relatively small step I can take to try to mitigate what I’ve already done.
Ashley Strobridge, Vermont
I haven't flown since 2001 due to my neurodivergencies, and later, due to my size due to medications I take for my neurodivergencies. I now also refus...
