The planet needs us to change the way we live. Consume less, squander less and fly not at all. It’s been 5 years since I’ve been on a plane and I’ve been loving staying closer to home and driving or traveling by train as needed. It’s the least I can do, and I love that this community sees it the same way!

I have given up my dream of traveling the world. I am going to live a simple, happy, and local life. I am from California and my state is burning. Unnecessary travel is not worth what we’re doing to our planet. I shall bloom where I’m planted and appreciate all that I have right here in my backyard.

I am ready to settle into my own immediate environment and explore how my life is while stable and connected to nature. No big deal- it just feels right. I never did this before!! Who knows what else will occur to me while not flying away!

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I am pledging because I do NOT want to be responsible - to any degree - in creating climate change. I've also stopped eating cows.

I sought to prove that I could drive my VW Id4 from WA to MA and back (via MD). It was a memorable adventure though—between fast-charger rates, overnight accommodations, and tolls—not cheap. I must say it left me wondering how so many of the people I connected with continue to live as though there were no climate or humanitarian crises—how our culture keeps people asleep. You may read about it at jeffrysteele.blogspot.com.

I haven't flown since 2019, it's way past due to take climate change seriously.

I’ve known flying was terrible for the environment, but I kept justifying. It’s become time for stop! Flying will now become something I rarely do!

Although the total contribution of CO2  generated by commercial airliners is 2.8% the effect is much greater due to the altitude at which the CO2  is generated and condensation trails, which form under certain fairly common conditions. These two parameters act like a warm blanket trapping heat that would have otherwise escaped into space. In addition, airlines are allowed to jettison their fuel when emergency landings are required to lighten the load before landing. I have witnessed this first hand while outside under the flight path of the desperate crew.

Why pledge Flight Free for the Climate?

I already live in paradise. I have no need to travel. One of my favorite pastimes is hiking in the local forests near my home.

Thanks for raising the awareness I’ve been trying to raise for over thirty years. I was a touring musician, and airfare was covered by whomever hired me for the gig as part of my contract. I hated how much I was flying but could do nothing about it without jeopardizing my career and the number of gigs I was booking. The upside of my retirement is that I no longer have to fly for work, and therefore for much of anything. The yearlong pledge is an experiment. If it works, I’ll keep extending it annually.

I stopped flying last year and the benefits have vastly outweighed the downsides (if there are any downsides at all!). I got into biking for the first time and I love it - I'm now training for my first long distance bike tour. My carbon footprint is way smaller. I've explored more of my locale. And I love connecting with other people who also avoid flying and enjoy human-powered travel. I don't see any reason to fly this year.

The future of our families (our children, their children,...) is at grave risk from the twin catastrophes of ecological destruction and climate change. But we can't seem to get rid of the collective malaise of helplessness that we seem resigned to. The helplessness is not grounded in fact, but in selfishness, in convenience, in delusion. I refuse to be deluded. I have not been on a plane in 12 years. I have only flown 4 times in my life. I commit to not flying except in a family emergency. Additionally, I live in a Net-Zero home and coach others to decarbonize their lives as well.

Last year was my first flight-free year. At the beginning of 2023 I took monthly trips from Oakland to San Diego, and discovered that the Flix bus drives through the night to get me back home in time to work the next day. I managed to avoid flying even though I had a family wedding to attend on the opposite side of the country. (..) When I learned that air travel burned more fossil fuels than any other form of travel, it was easy to understand WHY I wanted to fly less. How to do it in a way that lets me be with people I love has been the challenge.

I'm an academic who used to fly a lot professionally. Invitations to far away places to talk about science are treated as a sign of academic excellence, but one that comes with a climate cost that many of my colleagues do not want to be reminded of. I've largely cut out my professional flights, declined invitations to travel overseas and replaced some regional trips with train or carpool. I still travel by plane to my native Europe, where our entirely family still lives, prioritizing those infrequent flights with my kids to stay connected their relatives over the high number of professional flights that are normalized in academia.

I've stopped flying since February 2023..(..)..Less is more in so many ways. Sacrifice is beholden to a lot of perspective, as there's so much to gain from not flying. Not everyone agrees, and that's okay - people are weird and live in dual states of conflicting interest all the time. I hope this pledge and story at best remind others to help those around them be true to themselves and what they really care about.

During the pandemic, as my industry shifted to online trainings, I saw how much we could reduce our carbon emissions. By making a pledge not to fly, I've pushed my nonprofit organization to build a regional trainers network that increases skills throughout the US and keeps our collective carbon footprint low. I hope it inspires other networks to do similarly.

I envision a future where our global culture shifts, and air travel (as well as all polluting, unsustainable activities as a whole) is/ are seen as an old fashioned thing: a thing we did before we knew better. And I’m proud to do my part in offering living proof that it is really quite fun on the other side.

My last flight was in Summer 2016 to visit South Korea.  I have not flown since then. 

I used to love flying all over the world and visiting Korea was a regular trip to me without thinking twice. Now, I see differently about traveling by air ever since I have become more aware of living sustainably.  If covid pandemic did not occur, I was pretty sure that I would not have stopped flying frequently.  

I prefer traveling more locally and my desire to visit foreign countries by air has been significantly lowered.  I pledge to fly home only once every couple of years.

What are your alternatives to flying?

Train and videoconferencing, walking, bicycling, poetry, and drL--an un-technology that slows us down instead of speeding us up

I pledge to have less frequent air travel and to be more intentional and grateful for the ability to travel when I do. Primarily as a climate action and also as a way to commit to living fully in my local region, being more connected with my community, and experiencing the beauty and natural wealth of the fragile habitats we reside in. I work on solid waste policy and methane emissions mitigation projects and believe there is no limit to the ways we can all be climate activists!