4 ms·

If I choose not to fly then the plane will still depart without me. Many airlines flew completely empty planes during the pandemic.

• vel0city 3y ago
  Sure, if just one person decides to not fly it will still fly. But what if 10% of consumers? 30% of consumers? 80% of consumers? If nobody is standing at that gate does the plane still fly? Sure, regulation quirks mean a few will, but would they keep flying that empty plane forever? If half the people buying bottled water stopped this year, would the bottled water industry keep production the same, increase it, or decrease it?
  • zirgs 3y ago
    I can deprive myself from the experience of seeing far away countries, but billionaires won't deprive themselves from their yachts and private jets. And no - trains are not a solution. I can't travel to the American continent with a train. Should travelling be available only to rich people again?
    • vel0city 3y ago
      And thus, we continue to spiral into the same thing most people are harking on in this thread. Should single family homes with large yards be available to only rich people? And unless the government starts shooting private planes out of the sky, even government regulations aren't going to stop rich people from flying. I'm not saying you should never fly. I don't know your life. I agree there's a lot of good economic outcomes from having an aviation industry and overall it brings the world closer together, which is probably good. But I do think global tourism probably isn't the best thing in the world climate-wise. I'm just trying to push back against the idea that end consumers have zero say about what corporations do climate-wise. Those planes are flying because people want to sit in those seats (generally, outside of those flights during covid to keep routes). Bottled water makers make bottled water because people buy it. Car companies keep making bigger cars because most Americans keep wanting bigger cars. There's a feedback loop, and ignoring it or flat out denying it isn't going to help solve these challenges. I'm not saying never board another plane in your life. I know I am, eventually. I'm just suggesting, maybe swap some trip involving a flight for a more local vacation every now and then. If we all reduced the demand for the flights a bit, fewer planes would fly. I'm not saying never buy another bottled beverage. I'm just saying, maybe the tap water isn't that bad, and its not too difficult to just fill a cup instead of grabbing a single use bottle every time.
• chpatrick 3y ago
  That's because under current regulations they would lose their license to fly that route, which is certainly bad, but it doesn't extend to everything else.