The train from New York to Florida marked the beginning of my flying diet. And our family loved it. Here's why I'm cutting out flying at every opportunity I can.
For the Earth. Humans like to speed things up. It's not bad to want progress; it's bad when the consequences aren't considered. Now we're paying the price. Flying is one of the most destructive things a person can do to the Earth at one time. It's a complete luxury that only about 15 percent of people in the world have ever experienced. Many of the people that will never step foot on a plane will feel the worst effects of climate change, with much of it caused by fossil fuels. One 2,500 mile flight melts ~25 square feet of Arctic ice per person. That's the size of a small room for every person on the plane. The most frequent fliers make up only one percent of the world’s population, but together they account for more than half of the total carbon dioxide emission from passenger air travel (private jets are the worst offenders). So, it's no wonder we are in a mass extinction phase, the oceans are warming, the coral is dying, the rainforests are retreating, and on and on.
For each other. Turns out when you speed things up, you also miss a lot. Getting somewhere isn't about the journey anymore. Instead we complain about how long we had to wait at a gate or when a flight gets cancelled. In reality, it's a miracle that humans can even travel at that pace at all. We've lost an appreciation for the journey. For slowing down. For moving alongside the Hudson River and spotting an old castle in the water, watching ships come into the harbor, and eating a meal together in a dining car.
So, there you have it. We flew home from Florida because we didn't have time to train home. Yet replacing our one-way long flight there was a step forward that we could take. The train was electric most of the way, and so by choosing rail over air we prevented THREE tons of carbon from being emitted into the air (between the 4 of us). I'm flying to Puerto Rico early next year and am going to cut out half my flights by taking the train south first.
Maybe there are ways you can consider cutting out flying too.
The train was a beautiful, peaceful, and exciting adventure. That's something I've never said after a flight.