I am highly worried about the future of our planet. There are 1400+ million metric tons of carbon in the melting permafrost this is just one example of positive carbon emission feedbacks the planet is facing. Furthermore, AI and bitcoin are energy intensive, which is sending the earth's carbon footprint in the wrong direction.
I am an outdoor enthusiast, but I find no reason to fly to the Alps, Patagonia, and other foreign mountain ranges to backpack and climb. The Wind River range, the Sierra Nevada, the Canadian Rockies. and other destinations in North America offer at least as much in scenery and adventure as those to which you have to fly. Moreover, they can be reached by driving an electric vehicle. I'm extremely happy to venture into our own mountains without flying 10-20 hours to crowded mountains overseas.

Since the summer of 2022, I decided to go flight-free (and also car-free) — I have used my bike and the train to cover all of my traveling wants and needs. And these are changes I have thoroughly enjoyed making! My experience has taught me that being intentional about how we travel helps put a lot of things in the right perspective. I look forward to keeping this commitment during the climate emergency we are living in and beyond.

Flying is the dirtiest (most CO2-heavy) activity millions of us do every year. Given the climate emergency we're in, it's really a no-brainer to simply stop flying. The sooner more of us forgo planes and opt for trains, bikes, electric cars, etc., the sooner the air-travel industry will come up with a way to fly carbon-free. As long as dirty flying is popular (and profitable), they have little motivation to change their ways. I sometimes think about the sacrifices my father and mother made during WWII in order to save our country and the world from certain doom. Giving up flying is the LEAST we can do today to help save our country and the world from tomorrow's climate disasters.

By choosing not to fly I intend to lower the demand such that fewer commercial flights will be scheduled in the future.
I hope that my choices alert others to alternatives to flight transportation.
I have saved 16,200 mi flight travel (personal, non-essential) since pledging to not fly in 2022.

Since 2019, I've pledged to take no more than one flight per year. Living locally keeps us more peaceful, happy, grounded, and involved in our local communities - in addition to reducing our carbon footprint. Life here is enough.

I've been aware of the outsized impact of airline flying since becoming acquainted with www.footprintnetwork.org in the early 2000s. This group won the top award from the Nobel Sustainability Trust in 2024. I learned about FlightFree.org at the Kinetic Grand Championship in Humboldt County, California, where the FLYtLESS kinetic sculpture took top prize in this "triathlon of the art world." These achievements represent, in my opinion, the new definitions of "success" and "glamour." It's great to know a little about the wide, wide world, but there are plenty of ways to do that without flying in airplanes.

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 refuse to fly due to the dangers from FAA cuts, due to the flagrant constitutional violations of ICE, and due to the Climate Crisis that is exacerbated by flight emissions. I pledge to continue to be flight free until the Climate Crisis, and all of the other above issues, are addressed!