| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10] > | Off topic: Have you given up flying? Thread poster: Tom in London
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| I agree, but ... | Jul 21, 2023 |
Philip Lees wrote: Ice Scream wrote:
I think the best thing anyone can do for the planet is vote carefully.
This is the crux of the matter. One goal of the planned disinformation campaigns orchestrated by fossil fuel companies over the last five decades has been to make ordinary people believe that they are to blame for the climate crisis, whereas until political parties change their attitudes and policies, there will be no real difference. Governments around the world subsidise fossil fuels on the order of hundreds of billions of dollars per year. That's money that could be spent on energy conservation projects and developing clean and renewable energy sources. Until it becomes clear that a strong climate policy is a vote winner, I think we haven't got a hope. As a victim of Brexit, I am currently not allowed to vote anywhere, but if I was, it would only be for a party that has clear and rational policies for addressing the climate crisis. How many political parties are there around the world that meet that criterion? I don't know, but I would guess the number is quite small (leaving out the meaningless posturing that passes for a climate policy in many cases). Bad luck for us.
Voting is obviously important but you only get to vote every few years, if at all (plus in the UK's first past the post system voting we have no effective way to vote for a truly green party).
It's possible to push for government action while also exercising personal responsibility. These things are not separate, they are interlinked. Cutting down on flying not only cuts your personal carbon emissions, it also supports others trying to do the same. Going vegan helps build a movement, which influences government policy.
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 16:51
French to English
Tom in London wrote: Lingua 5B wrote:
I am a meat eater and I don’t react at all when served a vegan meal, I just politely decline as I have sensitivity to beans and some raw vegetables. Very bloaty saponins, but no need to shovel anything into anyone’s face. Many ingredients of vegan meals are flown across continents, every day. Not very "vegan" is it?
If no animals have been caused any harm while producing it, it's vegan.
It's not environment-friendly if it's flown across continents, but it's vegan.
And actually, eating locally-produced meat is worse for the environment than eating imported veg. The farting and the belching produce a lot of CO2.
I source all my veg locally, and only buy a few exotic items like mangoes and bananas.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 16:51
French to English
Ice Scream wrote:
I think the best thing anyone can do for the planet is vote carefully.
Except that no democratically elected politician dares to start putting caps on the number of flights people make, or the type of fuel they burn in their car, or the amount of meat people eat. Measures introduced are never anywhere near enough, and yet people moan like heck about using paper straws when no straw is even necessary, and nobody wants to take the bus if they can afford a car.
A lot of people are incapable of understanding climate change, and sceptics have dragged it down to the same status as religion, i.e., it's a matter of belief, when it's more a question of understanding. People prefer to be selfish, saying "what harm does my one little plastic straw do", or "it's only a drop in the ocean", and don't understand that every drop counts. Just like they don't understand that every vote counts in elections.
Democracy doesn't work with matters that require intelligence and empathy, because far too many people are lacking either one or the other or both.
[Edited at 2023-07-21 09:24 GMT]
| | | | | OK, let's try it | Jul 21, 2023 |
Rachel Waddington wrote:
It's possible to push for government action while also exercising personal responsibility. These things are not separate, they are interlinked. Cutting down on flying not only cuts your personal carbon emissions, it also supports others trying to do the same. Going vegan helps build a movement, which influences government policy.
Right, I hereby put it out there publicly that I syphon off bathwater to water my veg, pee in a bottle to make fertiliser, generate zero food waste, planted the trees that heat my home and generate all my own electricity. Look at me, look at me, I'm green AF.
Now I'm going to sit back and watch government policy change as you all happily follow my lead...
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| OT/JAL is undoubtedly the best | Jul 22, 2023 |
Michael Newton wrote:
I have given up flying on British Airways. I try to stick to Japan Airlines, ANA, Cathay Pacific or a Middle Eastern airline.
I used to fly to London via BA and then onto Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Now I fly Lufthansa from Boston to Frankfurt or Swiss to Zurich and use these cities as jumping off points. Japan Airlines is hands down the best on the planet.
I know that JAL is a bit expensive than other airlines, but undoubtedly the best in the world.
More than thirty years ago, I flew back from NYC to Japan using JAL. I'm a very sensitive person, and most of the time I have trouble sleeping on planes, so I purposely didn't sleep the night before going home. As soon as I got on the plane and it took off, I fell asleep from the relief that I just have to sit there and the plane will take me back to my country. Meal was served while I was asleep, and when I woke up, I realized that all the other passengers had finished eating, and thought that I missed one meal, but the flight attendant was kind enough to bring me my meal which she has saved it for me. Of course, she didn't wake me when the meal was served. There was a sign in front of my seat saying "Your meal is being saved. When you wake up, just let us know so that we can serve your food" How nice!
The reason I'm writing this is because during my stay in the US, I traveled to Germany and Italy from the US, and on the way back from Rome, I missed my meal because I was sleeping, but the flight attendant was not kind enough to offer me a meal later and had this "missed your meal?, well tough luck, kid. you were asleep" attitude. This was an US airline and I know how flight attendants on US airlines can be so blunt. It was back in the days when smoking was allowed on flight, but the smoking section was so limited, like the very back five rows of the aircraft, and the flight attendants told us smokers that if we wanted to smoke, please take turns by asking other passengers who have been assigned a seat in the smoking section, whereas the flight attendants were arrogant enough to sit in the crew's seats and started puffing.
Answering Tom's question, no I haven't given up flying but haven't flown for twenty years.
[Edited at 2023-07-22 06:25 GMT]
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 10:51
Japanese to English
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| Given up flying? | Jul 22, 2023 |
When you live in Japan for many years, you get used to kindnesses that you come to depend on and take for granted. Going back to the West can be a shock as these kindnesses are not available.
| | | | | Haven't given up flying. | Jul 22, 2023 |
Michael Newton wrote:
When you live in Japan for many years, you get used to kindnesses that you come to depend on and take for granted. Going back to the West can be a shock as these kindnesses are not available.
I just don't have the chance to do so.
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Michael Newton wrote:
I used to fly to London via BA and then onto Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia and the Middle East.
London is in Europe. Last time I checked...
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expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 15:51
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
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| Funnily enough | Jul 22, 2023 |
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote: London is in Europe. Last time I checked...
There are three American cities named London. They can be found in Arkansas, Kentucky and Ohio.
I learnt about it when I watched a documentary a few days ago.
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 10:51
Japanese to English
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| Given up flying? | Jul 23, 2023 |
Not forgetting Brighton (Massachusetts), Manchester (New Hampshire), Cambridge (Massachusetts), Oxford (Massachusetts), York (Maine); and the list goes on.
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expressisverbis wrote: Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote: London is in Europe. Last time I checked... There are three American cities named London. They can be found in Arkansas, Kentucky and Ohio. I learnt about it when I watched a documentary a few days ago.
There is also a London, Ontario.
| | | | Tony Keily
Local time: 16:51
Italian to English
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| The notrious links between veganism and flying go way back! | Jul 23, 2023 |
Tom in London wrote:
Many ingredients of vegan meals are flown across continents, every day. Not very "vegan" is it?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism#/media/File:Barbara_Moore_(1961).jpg
Pic of Barbara Moore attending the first meeting of the Vegan Society as an observer. I rest my case (which is smaller than hers).
However, the word 'vegan' was formed from the first and last letters of 'vegetarian'. What's left over is 'etari'. This apparently means 'glutton' in Basque and Old Norse. So veganism could claim be taking, quite literally, the gluttony out of vegetarianism, which, even Tom will concede, is no bad thing.
[Edited at 2023-07-23 09:14 GMT]
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TonyTK
German to English
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| And Jericho ... | Jul 23, 2023 |
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote: London is in Europe. Last time I checked...
... is near London of course. Which explains why we always sing Jerusalem at Twickers.
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Context is everything... now, please stop... 
| | | | | Instructive example | Jul 23, 2023 |
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL wrote:
now, please stop...
.... of how readily some will seize the opportunity to divert a conversation away from subjects that make them feel uncomfortable.
Rhodes is on fire and flights from the UK to Rhodes have halted, which would seem the kind of thing a thread like this might talk about, but no, it's shifted to which is the best airline and how many places share particular placenames.
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