Flying is great, with moderation

flying carbon

Being concerned about environmental issues leads to the dilemma that flying produces as much CO2 as covering the same distance alone in a sport car, even if your flight is full ! So imagine covering for example Berlin-Beijing on ground in a Porsche, and this both ways ! You won’t feel so good about your environmental footprint. So what’s the point, stop traveling ? Why not stop breathing. For sure there would be some aficionados advising you going by bike, or even on foot. You could also travel with the trans-Siberian. Some would advise to pay for carbon offsets, but I am skeptical about money cleaning the air.

One could also advise to fly more responsively, suggesting for example the further you fly, the longer you stay. I personally try to stick to the rule that my minimum stay should be at least 1 night for every 1 hour flight. If you consider Berlin-Beijing being 9 hours, both ways 18 hours, you arrive to the conclusion that you should stay at least 18 nights. With remote desktop and video calls it is not bad news for businessmen. Just combine some conferences, appointments and team work. Of course one should avoid flights under 1.000 km, and take other travel options, like train or bus, which are even more convenient, saving all the check in hassle and expensive airport shuttles.

Or wait for the first commercial flying wings (with solar energy).

flying wing

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