I think having 20 young Canadians in Nairobi at precisely the same moment our country’s government was doing everything in its power to back us out of Kyoto was crucial. I think the relationships formed, the representation made and the overall experience were worth the carbon. I live a very low carbon lifestyle and I think it’s ultimately about balance. I think we need be holistic here.

For the record, I checked around with Greenpeace International in June last year about taking a boat to Nairobi, which was unfeasible; however I would like to look into sailing from Vancouver to Japan for COP 13.

Again, it’s about balance.

Peace to you all,

Cam

As a side note, the new daylight hours are the equivalent of greatness up here in the Yukon. The sun is shining and it is a mere -15 this past week… the light blooms pink and falls into beautiful blues and then back again into oranges and reds that make the hair on my arms stand tall to see past the trees. Thanks for keeping this network alive everyone. It gives me hope that the earth I want to see will survive my wild dreams.

All the best,
Jess

These are all excellent ideas. I would add that people who want to be carbon
neutral can also offset their emissions. Many companies offer to evaluate your
emissions and, for example, to plant trees for you to offset your emissions. I
agree, this is not the best! Reduction, prevention is always better, but carbon
offsetting is better than doing nothing and an option when you need to travel.

Here is a website for companies :
http://www.carbonneutral.com/pages/carbonoffsetprojects.asp

There are tons of other websites for individuals. Carbon offsetting is applicable to anybody who uses
cars, bus, consume goods or electricity; which means all of us! Or why not
finance organisations planting trees in developing countries (we might need it
in Quebec too very soon!;)

If you want (a lot of) people to abide to your principles, they need to be
practical. Because unfortunately, not everyone is ready to sacrifice their
comfort for the cause of the environment. This is the sad truth. But, isn’t it
more useful to have lots of people doing less than a few people doing a lot ?

Anyway, there are so many ways to do it. I believe all are good because we are
all different. The more ways we act on the field and spread the word around,
the more people we will convince to follow us in our various path all leading
to the same point.

Have a nice day,
Gen

I did attend the mop 1 in Montreal Canada by way of flying, but I thought it
was quite a silly thing to do and that was my last time flying, (and will
hopefully be my last time ever flying).

Do we really need to be flying around the world in the name of climate change?
I see the importance of having a strong youth presence at these conferences,
but can we do this without ourselves contributing so much green house gases?
that would be awesome if youth from Australia and other near by continents
could boat there and wouldn’t that be a great example for the youth to set to
all the other delegates!!
peace and revolution

caitlin

Thank you for writing.

You can read the full article here by George Monbiot, http://environment.guardian.co.uk/travel/story/0,,1877458,00.html and here’s a great quote to get you started:

“…This means the end of distant foreign holidays, unless you are prepared to take a long time getting there. It means that business meetings must take place over the internet or by means of video conferences. It means that transcontinental journeys must be made by train or coach. It means that journeys around the world must be reserved for visiting the people you love, and that they will require both slow travel and the saving up of carbon rations. It means the end of shopping trips to New York, parties in Ibiza, second homes in Tuscany and, most painfully for me, political meetings in Porto Alegre – unless you believe that these activities are worth the sacrifice of the biosphere and the lives of the poor.”

This seems like an infringement on our freedoms – but if you compare that to the disastrous impacts that climate change is already having on developing countries and poorer regions around the world, on their people and livelihoods, that infringement seems more like a choice of sharing the freedom to live a safe and equitable life – does it not?

I ask for forgiveness for my past climate crimes. I am currently spiritually agnostic but I went to confess my climate crimes in a Catholic Church the other day.

One of my 2005 Summer Conclusions was that “I will challenge myself to be as effective an organizer as possible while keeping within my sustainability values. For example, I will be aware of how much I fly, how environmentally harmful communication technology is, and where the funding for my projects comes from. I will strive to seek a balance between these awareness and my desire to be an effective organizer who is both efficient and working for global systematic change.”

I don’t know how to calculate accurately how many CO2 molecules I have emitted into the atmosphere since my birth but this handy internet tool has helped me to roughly calculate my flight emissions.

Return Flights

1. Toronto – Vancouver, Canada 0.73 Tonnes of CO2
2. Toronto – Edmonton, Canada 0.59 Tonnes of CO2
3. Toronto – Winnipeg, Canada 0.59 Tonnes of CO2
4. Toronto – Quebec City, Canada 0.18 Tonnes of CO2
5. Hamilton– Ottawa, Canada 0.11 Tonnes of CO2
6. Buffalo – New York City, U.S. 0.15 Tonnes of CO2
7. Toronto – London, U.K. 1.58 Tonnes of CO2
8. Toronto – Winnipeg, Canada 0.59 Tonnes of CO2
9. Toronto – Nairobi, Kenya 3.71 Tonnes of CO2
10. Ottawa – Victoria, Canada 0.78 Tonnes of CO2
11. Ottawa – Victoria, Canada 0.78 Tonnes of CO2
12. Montreal – Vancouver, Canada 0.80 Tonnes of CO2
13. Ottawa – Bangalore, India 3.70 Tonnes of CO2
14. Montreal – Hong Kong, China 3.39 Tonnes of CO
15. Toronto – Caracas, Venezuela 1.07 Tonnes of CO
16. Toronto – London, U.K. 1.58 Tonnes of CO2

Total = approx. 20.33 Tonnes of CO2 from airplanes alone!

It is clear that I need to seek a better balance. For me traveling is a dirty vice that I am having trouble expunging from my life. I tell myself that everything is about balance and moderation. That I emit less CO2 than the average Canadian because I am vegetarian, I don’t own a car, I try to use recycled goods as much as possible, I buy local produce and green energy and I’m responsible with the way I use electricity. That arguement don’t seem to cut it anymore….

This time I opted for 58 hours on a bus…. instead of 5 hours on a plane.
This time I opted to invest $291 in Greyhound instead of $301 in Air Canada.
This time I oped for 0.08 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, instead of 0.16.

Feels pretty good. (A lot better than my back will feel when I arrive in Toronto… but it’s a small
price to pay for making the future a slightly better place.)