| Farsala said: "I have not had a car for about 4 years. I prefer public transportation and it is better for the environment." and "I like to travel. I visited two countries this year." Those 2 quotes are a bit contradictory, A car and road tripping around your own country would probably save more than a plane ticket and public transportation. If you traveled to another country by plane, then that is not being minimalist to the environment. As a person seeking to travel a lot myself, I am well aware of just how harmful flying is to the environment. Using a car or public transportation pales in comparison. For example in my car, I filled it 5-10 times a year, which is about 50-100 gallons ( or 189 to 378 liters), a single round trip ticket to another country for me uses about 174 gallons ( or 660 liters). Of course the plane ticket has the advantage of being per person, so if I carpooled with anyone at any point I am already saving more gas then showed. And the numbers just get worse if I decide to take multiple trips in a year. |
Indeed, the fuel consumption of a plane is measured in liters per second.
However - even better for the environment if you can buy and sell local. A single cargo ship can emit over a year as much pollution as 50 million cars do! So any minimalist should keep that in mind before buying a few cheap clothes from China while getting rid of everything else when you should do the opposite, for instance. Or when you are a vegan because of methane etc. but buy off-season vegetables and fruits imported from the other side of the planet...
OT - I feel you OP. I'm very minimalist myself though I'm very attached to my physical books. Maybe you can try to sell those who are less important of inspiring to you, and keep the goodies. That's what I do, at least.
