I am the green gal and I have flown on an airplane.
Sounds wrong, I know, so let me explain myself. Although, first of all, does being green mean never flying? Ever? How about offsetting flights? What about only flying short-haul? Or only long-haul?
My husband and I decided after our honeymoon in Italy that we would only fly every other year. It was actually four years until we flew again, last week, to Italy as it happens. After holidaying in a tipi, a fancy tent on a farm and in various cottages in the UK, mostly in disappointing weather, we decided it was time we took ourselves off to sunnier climes and felt a bit of warmth on our skins.
Our Italian week saw us give money to The Man (BA flights, Europcar rental, Esselunga supermarket) but also support independent and local businesses. BTW, yes we did rent a car to compound our CO2 evil – we were in rural Tuscany, wheels are essential!
We rented our apartment from a couple who renovate ruined old villas, we ate in restaurants owned and run by the same family for who knows how many generations, and (after the initial panic stock-up in a supermarket) bought local produce in independent stores. Much hilarious bad Italian pronunciation on my behalf and confused gesticulation on the locals’ behalf ensued.
Originally we thought we’d spend several days visiting different towns seeing the historical sights but then decided to only take two day trips. I would say this was to save on emissions but actually it was because we were just too darned tired and wanted to lie around absorbing Vitamin D! But pumping fewer pollutants into the atmosphere was a happy bonus.
I read three books, all borrowed so no trees were freshly hurt for my reading pleasure. And I knitted. A lot. A scarf I’m hoping the recipient in a few weeks will like.
So, as foreign holidays go, I’d say that’s low impact-ish. Si or non? I’ve thought about offsetting our emissions but that’s such a fuzzy area I find it quite confusing. One school of thought is that it’s better than doing nothing, you plant trees or support eco projects in developing countries. Others disagree saying it’s a sticking plaster for people to feel better about their indulgences, that the planted trees could be chopped down long before they’ve had time to offset your emissions.
Having got the need for a foreign holiday out of systems for the time being, I don’t think either of us have a huge urge to sit on a plane again any time soon. Yes the weather is unreliable but the UK has so many beautiful and interesting places to visit that we’ll be happy staying in the Isles for the next few years.
And if we do get twitchy tongues for foreign lingo, there’s always the Eurostar!
