The MSG and I have just booked a holiday over the Christmas break. I’ve flown less this year than any recent year, as I took a decision that when travelling for work I now request that they get me a train ticket rather than a plane (e.g. if I’m going to Manchester or Edinburgh). Yet don’t think I’m over righteous; the idea of foreign lands is as glorious to me as everyone else. It’s tough to give up flying.
For me the environmental issues are wider than just examining my own behaviour. I’m fully aware of how many people use this site to get cheap flights; the Flightchecker has had nearly 5 million searches done on it since its launch in Feb 2005. Yet MoneySaving is of course what it’s all about, my hope (as stated in the article) is that this site shows people how to fly and pay less for it rather than flying more.
It’s tough when ethical considerations are balanced with MoneySaving, how do you contrast the battle to enable people to have more, with the potential environmental issues? It’s not my aim to preach, this isn’t the GreenLivingExpert site. Yet personally, this time round as we’re flying, we’ve paid for carbon offsetting (how to do that is detailed in the Cheap Flights Article, so some trees will be planted because we’re flying. And while I realise that the carbon created by flying is immediate, and the carbon reduction of a tree will take a long time. It’s a small step start towards developing an environmental conscience.
