Signalstar said:
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. |
The plane is taking off with or without me. If I did not occupy my seat either someone else would have or it would have been empty. The plane uses the same amount of fuel regardless. Whereas if I have a car, every solo trip I take is completely on me and I responsible for that pollution. I also am willing to accept that I am not a perfect minimalist. Like physical books, travel is one of those things I want more of not less. I tried to join a ecological cruise ship that was sailing around the world that way I could see the world with minimal harm to the environment but it did not work out for me. If I am lucky I will travel to 3 countries next year.
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That is just completely wrong. The airline knows how many people are going to be in the plane and they know exactly how much luggage is on board. They will fuel the plane accordingly (plus reserve fuel). It wouldn't make any sense to fly with more fuel than you need, because fuel is heavy and anything that is heavy needs even more fuel to be transported.
