Being incurably curious—some
call it nosey—I find out that he and his wife have taken a vow, not of
chastity, but fossil fuel chastity. They’ve checked the car into a
neighbourhood car hire and won’t drive it for twelve months, although Comrade P
may travel in a car driven by someone else or hired for work purposes where no
alternative transport exists.
Earlier in the year he shows me
an article in his local rag about his family home. Photos show Comrade P and
spouse’s water tanks, vegie garden, and solar panels. Comrade P himself shows
me photos of the kids in the box at the front of the cargo bike he and his wife
use to transport the family on shorter trips.
In November when the MM and KM
teams meet for three days in Sydney, project officers will fly in from around
the nation. Except Comrade P: he’s coming by train, overnight, in a sleeper. While
not treading as lightly as he does, and hating air travel, I’m considering
joining him, not in the sleeper, but certainly on the train.
Pretty much every aspect of air
travel pisses me off, especially the massive carbon footprint I contribute to. Today
I fly to Newcastle; on Friday I fly back again. On Sunday I fly to Sydney for a
conference, and on Tuesday I fly home. On Friday next week I fly to Canberra
and back in the day for an award ceremony I heartily don’t want to know about.
I’d like to be as green as
Comrade P, or as green as my own daughter. Saving energy has always been my
thing. I turn off lights, drive the smallest car as little and as slowly as I
can, turn off my monitor every night as I leave work. I won’t buy over-packaged
goods and I’ve carried a basket to the supermarket for 40 years.
The time has come to use
alternative travel to aeroplanes if it is possible and practicable. Overnight
to Sydney is a good start.
Rock on.
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