Response to Sam Gilliland on ABTN 24 August 2009

Sam Gilliland of Sabre argues in ABTN that the Travel Industry is unfairly targeted as a focus of CO2 emissions, and there are other ways to reach environmental goals:

Adrian England, builds on those ideas, suggesting that by planning itineraries and more use of serviced apartments we can face our obligation to choose when to travel…and how to spend our time.

CO2 - Planes (2%) and Cattle (18%)

Sam Gilliland, of Sabre, makes the point that flying is unfairly targeted as a polluter. 

I imagine the livestock industry, producing 9 times more CO2 emissions (in the form of Methane), is under environmentalist pressure to deal with its own “emissions” issue. Obviously, a “1 in 5” challenge for them could be achieved by all of us deciding to eat 20% less beef. Of course that simply will not happen.

Just as we all have to eat, we all need to trade, and trade has always meant travelling to market. Some small reductions in Travel-Carbon will certainly come from some people “going Techno-vegetarian”, and some more sustainable reductions from people cutting down sensibly – the equivalent of eating less red meat and taking more exercise.

Before arable farming was established there was no option but to hunt Game and live a Nomadic lifestyle. Before the Telephone people wrote more letters. Before SMS and IM people just sent short emails. Before Websites everybody used actual shops, all the time.

The point we face is that it is now possible for us to trade successfully without flying so much.

Invention and Exploration has brought us expanded choice – it has also brought us choices.

I agree with Sam Gilliland, meeting our trading partners face to face is often essential. The value of human interaction should not be under-estimated any longer. We humans have five senses, not two;

BUT … time is an important factor here. So if we use our time effectively we can do more, to “virtually” be in two places at once. Even when we choose to actually travel for the valid purpose of human interaction, we can choose to use our time more effectively.

Now many essential face-to-face meetings can be planned around conferences or other “in-person” events, rolling several flights into one – call it the healthy-travelling option. By planning to stay longer and tackle a full agenda, the use of Carbon, and the Time, is fully-justified and therefore comparatively more efficient.

The serviced apartment option gives a traveller back their time. Instead of eating Menu-portions each day, our traveller can fix a snack and be free to use the evening productively either relaxing properly in preparation for the next day, or perhaps using skype on their laptop (to be “kind-of” in two places at once. This is because now a business-person can make their “home” lifestyle “portable”, using their serviced apartment’s facilities.