Parke Wilde, Massachusetts

I won't fly in 2023 because of the climate crisis. A long time ago, back in 2014, I resolved not to fly unless "truly necessary" and then found to my shock that none of my flights, neither for work or family or pleasure, turned out to be strictly necessary. I know this isn't true for everybody. To maintain my career, I use a mix of online meetings and overland travel. For recreation, my spouse and I have had 8 wonderful years of travel adventures by train, bus, boat, and bicycle instead of flying.

Parke Wilde is an academic who co-founded Flying Less, an initiative focused on reducing academia’s carbon footprint. Aviation is responsible for a large fraction of total emissions in universities and research institutions. The Flying Less initiative calls for rapid reductions in total flying, while preserving the good that academia does in the world. This Travel Petition has specific actions for universities, professional associations, research funders, and individual academics (including faculty, students, and staff). Learn more at https://sites.tufts.edu/flyingless/.

Enjoy Parke Wilde’s mock travel and tourism show YouTube video series: Lifestyles of the NOT Jet Set which provides a window into his personal and professional experience of travelling flight free around the U.S.