Until now, I have flown multiple times a year for my entire life. My family is scattered across the country, and flying has enabled me to see them far more frequently than I would have otherwise. As I’ve learned more about the impacts of climate change and our civilization’s vast over-extraction of our world’s resources, I’ve become convinced of our need to dramatically reduce our fossil fuel and resource consumption. Those changes extend far beyond reducing our flying, but flying is (a) not necessary for our life and well-being, (b) a significant emitter for the proportion of the population that engages in it, (c) and available to only a fraction of the world’s population.
Reducing my own flying is a way to stand in solidarity with those who have never had the opportunity but who are being impacted disproportionally by our collective extraction of and impact on our earth. I still can see myself flying in the future, but my decisions on when have transformed. Flying is no longer a right or a given that I can engage in at any point, but a very conscious decision I may make for specific or extraordinary circumstances when other options are exhausted.
Climate resilience practitioner and water resources engineer in the water industry. I focus on understanding how climate change increases risk from natural disasters, and what utilities and communities can do to reduce their risk. Much of my career has focused on risks from flooding and sea level rise.