Paul Sheeran, California

My wife and I have always been environmentally conscious and have walked the walk long before society adopted certain important environmental behaviors. We started sorting and recycling our trash in the 1990’s before there was curbside recycling. At the same time we bought a backyard composter and  started composting our compostable waste. We buy and consume predominantly organically produced food that is locally grown and in season. We have bought and driven only the most high mileage vehicles starting with our first hybrid in 2003, moving onto a plug-in hybrid, and now drive an EV which requires no consumption of fossil fuels. We live in Davis, California where it gets very hot in the summer. To stay comfortable, we use a whole house fan instead of the air conditioner unless we have an extended heat wave of over 100 degrees. We used to travel with our family every year to Hawaii and occasionally to Europe. My wife and I had planned a trip to Europe in early 2020. Then the pandemic hit and we had to cancel our plans. I was very disappointed at first, but this event gave me the opportunity and time to reflect on the consequences of air travel. Why, I asked myself, do I embrace all these environmentally friendly activities when I still fly and pump out enormous amounts of CO2 as a result? I have been retired for 13 years, am a healthy 72 years old, and thought that this time of my life would be my chance to see the world. But my thinking has changed. I have decided to only travel by air if family events such as funerals and weddings require such. Traveling by air for pleasure is not conceivable for me at present. There is Amtrak, my bicycle, and our EV. This decision not to travel by air has given me a greater appreciation for where I live: the most beautiful area of the most beautiful state where we grow the most beautiful, tasty, and healthy food in all the world. Why would I go elsewhere and despoil our beautiful planet?