Tag Climate Change Action

Climate Change

BBC News: Some firms give more time off to those who shun plane travel.

stephanie 0 Comment

BBC News: Some firms give more time off to those who shun plane travel.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190918-some-firms-give-more-time-off-to-those-who-shun-plane-travel

This is an excellent idea! We need to break the habit of hopping on a plane for trips where a high-efficiency (run on renewables) train could do the trick. Might take a bit longer, but it’s worth it.

Now, what Canada needs is to switch from subsidizing fossil fuels to promoting electric trains (and public transit) so that everybody can afford them, and use them regularly. And, trips within Canada should cost less to do by train than on an airplane – the opposite of the current status (based on the times that I have checked).

FYI, here’s the link to the Green Party of Canada summary on transportation goals: https://www.greenparty.ca/en/platform/climate-emergency#green-climate-action-plan

Climate Change Uncategorized

Why "flight shame" is making people swap planes for trains

stephanie 0 Comment

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190909-why-flight-shame-is-making-people-swap-planes-for-trains

I admit that I have flown a lot, including a lot of trips across the Atlantic – at one stage in my life, I was averaging two return trips per year. In my circles, depending on what projects people are working on, that average can be much higher.

So, reducing/eliminating flights is tough, but being hard doesn’t make it any less essential. Regardless of the prevalence of super cheap airlines – or the nice ones, for those who have the money – the cost of flying is much higher than the actual ticket price.

In Canada, I have long been frustrated with the fact that train travel is not more affordable. In my opinion, our big systems should be making it easier to do the right thing, not harder. Therefore, if the lower emissions train trip was cheaper than an equivalent flight, I think that would help create a significant shift in behaviours, patterns and trends.

Until then, the right thing will not necessarily be the easiest or the cheapest, but it is still the right thing to do. 🙂