Coping with Climate Crisis on Vacation
It doesn’t help when you are up in the air about everything
Travel sorta sucks
I was gone from Hawaii all summer, and as predicted, Hawaii had record blistering heat. And drowning rains. That is, many of our farm crops died.
We went to the Great White. Not sharks. Not MAGA great. Not white, as in “Go Back where you came from if you’re not white,” but, Canada, and Seattle.
We were gone for our longest off island time ever. Escaping Hawaiian summers used to be a wonderful way to kick our bucket list down the years. We often visit wildlife sanctuaries, and even do conservation volunteering as we tick off destinations. But last year choking smoke covered the west coast of the continent, and this year, it was dead animals, and fallen trees everywhere.
Should we be spewing more carbon in your sky to escape heat? Well, when you live in Hawaii, there is very little alternative to flying. We’re planning to move, but that is so much harder than you think.
It’s a real dilemma. If you travel by sky, you know how much it sucks.
You know that security guy took your fully-intended-to-reuse plastic “Bin Laden” bottle. (It had a teaspoon of water in it). You know how much waste is generated just in the single use plastic meal alone.You know how Greta went by yacht, and as much as you love her, you kinda hate her too. You know your fellow travelers are looking forward to swiping those tiny shampoo bottles when they get to their hotels. You know the global south is dying from our neglect and emissions.
We often visit wildlife sanctuaries, and even do conservation volunteering as we tick off destinations. But last year choking smoke covered the west coast of the continent, and this year, it was dead animals, and fallen trees everywhere.
Should we be spewing more carbon in your sky to escape heat? Well, when you live in Hawaii, there is very little alternative to flying. We’re planning to move, but that is so much harder than you think.
Even when trapped up in the air, people begin to care
Qantas airlines is working hard to reduce this madness, and Green America too, among others.
But for the most part, people are so swept up in the excruciating demands of travel they ignore the fact that we are being dreadful, and most people aren’t going Down Under, except in the landfill and/or metaphorical sense.
What is the deal with paper napkins, airlines? Jane Goodall convinced me years ago to live with a cotton handkerchief always in my pocket, but nevertheless you insist on handing me a dozen paper squares every time you give me another plastic cup poured from an aluminum can that most likely will never be converted into your improved, and less crashy, Boeing 737 jets.
Going Coastal
Enroute home, we went to visit my OCD brother near Seattle. He saves and carefully cleans every container, and looks for ways to reuse. He mostly fails. His entire pantry is stuffed with neatly aligned peanut butter jars, cottage cheese, yogurt, potato salad tubs, and so much more. He tries to re-use every cracker and cookie box. But he can’t. None of us can.
We decided to immerse ourselves in healing nature. Bad idea. Weird weather seasonal storms had tumbled down old growth trees at our favorite Olympic park site. Then, we went coastal, and found a disturbing number of dead sea birds — endangered marbled Murrelet shorebirds — among them. No explanation.
I was compelled to scribble in the sand a lot: “Listen to Greta” (who says listen to the scientists). Sand writing, besides being extremely ephemeral, is also quite easy to ignore when the shore is littered with dead and dying animals.
What can you do?
As an ecopsychologist, I firmly believe that reconnecting to nature for solutions is our best bet. We need to feel good about life in order to demand protections for it. So, go hug a lot of trees, but also plant them.
There are many people who believe God is going to step in either as recycler in chief or prayer interventionist. Or wrath.
Fearmongering, also called scapegoating, is the only thing routinely recycled in this Anthropocene age of crumbling democracies and dithering dictators. Instead we need to recognize our human energy and passionately invest it into cleaner energy of every kind.
We need to feel empowered to have a voice, take our individual measures, insist on incremental change, vote for real leaders, eat real food, plant trees, quit arguing with deniers, innovate, create, imagine and work. We must understand we are not helpless. This is especially important when we feel helpless.
Do something, because you can
Pledge to reduce consumption, strive for zero waste, buy in bulk, eat communally — share and enjoy — that’s nature’s way.
Find outlets that are trying to waste less. Kroger, Trader Joes and Precycle, among others, are making an effort. But there are so many stores that don’t.
Guess what? Virtually no Hawaiian stores, the very center of the ocean choking with our debris, provides guilt free shopping.
I think it would be better to strangle seals, starve seabirds, and trap turtles with our plastic waste in person. It would really, really spread awareness.
Qantas airlines is working hard to reduce this madness, and Green America too. But for the most part, people are so swept up in the excruciating demands of travel they ignore the fact that we are being dreadful, and most people aren’t going Down Under, except in the landfill and/or metaphorical sense.
What is the deal with paper napkins, airlines? Jane Goodall convinced me years ago to live with a cotton handkerchief always in my pocket, but nevertheless you insist on handing me a dozen paper squares every time you give me another plastic cup poured from an aluminum can that most likely will never be converted into your improved, and less crashy, Boeing 737 jets.
The West coast
Enroute home, we went to visit my OCD brother near Seattle. He saves and carefully cleans every container, and looks for ways to re-use. He is failing. His entire pantry is stuffed with neatly aligned peanut butter jars, cottage cheese, yogurt, potato salad tubs, and so much more. He tries to re-use every cracker and cookie box. But he can’t. None of us can.
We decided to immerse ourselves in healing nature. Bad idea. Weird weather seasonal storms had tumbled down old growth trees at our favorite Olympic park site. Then, we went coastal, and found a disturbing number of dead sea birds — endangered marbled Murrelet shorebirds — among them. No explanation.
I was compelled to scribble in the sand a lot. “Listen to Greta” (who says listen to the scientists). Sand writing, besides being extremely ephemeral, is also quite easy to ignore when all the shore is littered with dead and dying animals.
What can you do?
As an ecopsychologist, I firmly believe that reconnecting to nature for solutions is our best bet. We need to feel good about life in order to demand protections for it.
There are many people who believe God is going to step in either as recycler in chief or prayer interventionalist. This is a mindset only God can change.
Wildfires, hurricanes, refugees, resource conflicts, drought and disease are distracting, but watching your house burn down can also instill focus. By all accounts these challenges they are going to be much, much worse. Yet, fearmongering is the worst thing to do.
Fearmongering, also called scapegoating, is the only thing routinely recycled in this Anthropocene age of crumbling democracies and dithering dictators. Instead we need to recognize our human energy and passionately invest it into cleaner energy of every kind.
We need to feel empowered to have a voice, take our individual measures, insist on incremental change, vote for real leaders, eat real food, plant trees, quit arguing with deniers, innovate, create, imagine and work. We must understand we are not helpless.
We have pledged to reduce consumption, strive for zero waste, and buy in bulk, but grocers make this very challenging indeed. Kroger, Trader Joes and Precycle, among others, are making an effort. But there are so many stores that don’t.
Guess what? Virtually no Hawaiian stores, the very center of the ocean choking with our debris, provides guilt free shopping.
I think it would be better to strangle seals, starve seabirds, and trap turtles with our plastic waste in person. It would really, really spread awareness.
