For those born before the intrepid Wright Brothers snapped goggles to their heads and took to the skies, it took six grueling weeks by stream-ship to get from London to Sydney. Thanks to groovily-named Orville and Wilbur, today it takes 24 hours.
Sure, it’s quicker, but is it better?
Convenience-wise: yes, certainly. One day beats forty-two, hands down. But environmentally, air travel has a devastating impact. Plug your flight details into the nifty emissions calculator, and it’s like hitting a bad patch of turbulence. If you’re flying from Sydney to London, via Singapore, just you alone will be pumping about 6,000kg of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
Carbon footprint? Yeah, if you happen to have King Kong’s shoe-size.
Really green folk might take to push-bikes and pedal around the globe, like former-geography teacher, Rob Lilwall. That’s a tad too sweaty for most of us. But there are other ways to avoid air travel, and all that CO2. If you’re gallivanting around Europe, then hop on the train, instead.
Train travel is fast and relatively cheap worldwide.
Studies reveal that commuters that fly between London, Paris and Brussels generate ten times more emissions than people who go by train.
So next time you plan to go jet-setting, remember what the Wright Brothers’ mum used to say – “stay away from those planes, boys… and take off those ridiculous goggles!”