To avoid the high carbon footprint of flying, Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist is instead sailing from Europe to New York to attend a global United Nations summit.
However, there is a snag. According to the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, the coming and going of her fellow crew members from New York by plane will clock up six transatlantic flights, three times a single return trip.
Tackling climate change is complex. Our world is made up of complex interwoven systems that are difficult to quickly escape. A lot of trial and error will be required to get there.
Taming the reflex to judge, something that often gets in the way of attempts to change things, might be one of the biggest challenges.
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Sara Karlsson says
Her boat is carbon zero with no emissions. Of course is it is much less polluting than flying. This young teenager is even rasiing awareness that flying is terrible for the environment. Something so many people want to forget/dismiss.
NV says
Greta Thunberg’s ‘zero-carbon’ yacht trip won’t save ANY emissions as a crew have to fly to New York to sail it back
Severin Puschkarski says
When a star like Greta is raising awareness the overall effect on climate change is not limited by saving one air trip.
Her decision -could- influence the path humankind is taking.
Yes this very boat trip -might- save billions of lives!
In the same way, if somebody stands up and takes part at a Fridays for Futures event I would not mind if he got there by car or plane. The overall effect of staying at home doing nothing is worse.
David Simpson-Smith says
Fully agree with Severin. I really enjoy Le News but have noticed its bizarre tendency to criticise efforts to combat climate change, disliking electric cars for instance. It’s easy to carp on the sidelines without proposing any solutions but only courageous people like Greta who highlight the dangers of climate change will convince people to change their behaviour. Not waffle about ‘taming the reflex to judge’,which is code for sitting on your hands while the evidence of our overheating planet builds up.