An Environmentally Friendly Retirement?

k6chris

I was just musing as to the impact that retirees have on the environment? More time to walk, less commuting, but jetting all over the world? As individual retirees we may be having less negative impact on the planet than when we worked, but are we doing more damage than retirees of a generation ago? What positive steps can we take or does it not matter what we do because of China/USA/Russia......?


Discuss...

shinytop

Will definitely be doing less commuting for me, 20k miles a year less. And the planes/trains I'll be on were going there anyway.;)

Not something I've considered but having more time should give me more choice.

vulcanrtb

Not flying is one of the most important things you can do in terms of helping the environment.

Malthusian

vulcanrtb wrote: »

Not flying is one of the most important things you can do in terms of helping the environment.

Yachts are pretty slow though.

I assume we aren't proposing removing the tourist industry from large swathes of the developing world which would force them to turn to polluting industries instead.

bugslett

shinytop wrote: »

And the planes/trains I'll be on were going there anyway.;)

.

Malthusian wrote: »

Yachts are pretty slow though.

I assume we aren't proposing removing the tourist industry from large swathes of the developing world which would force them to turn to polluting industries instead.

K6, I think you and I have the same thoughts, it's been something I've been pondering recently. Maybe it's because we are at a broadly similar stage of retirement?

If enough people didn't go on holiday shiny, then the planes wouldn't go there.

But as malthusian points out, what are the consequences in a reduction in tourist trade?

Whenever someone says that they are going to do x to be green, there is usually a downside. No more plastic straws we'll use paper, but that's more trees logged. Only allow Euro 6 trucks into London, but what about the environmental impact of getting rid of older trucks and the costs to the earth of producing new ones. It all gets very complicated.

My big faux pas in the environmental world is having dogs, but there is no way I'm giving them up!

As for flying, I don't actually intend to do too much, partly because it means creating some sort of provision for the mutts whilst I'm away, which is expensive and I do miss them.

The sum total of my holiday plans is to fly to Norway and do a road trip with a friend and I do fancy an extended holiday in the States, I do like America and I know someone that lives in California. If I take an extended holiday it means I can do the west coast and the east coast on one transatlantic flight. I think my overall travelling footprint will be small in terms of airtravel, undecided about campervan/motorhome/narrowboat!

BLB53

The BBC 'Climate Change - The Facts' should help to illuminate the issue. BBC 1 Thurs 18th April 9pm.

Paul_Herring

I think this new religion is getting somewhat out of hand...

crv1963

I do think the environment issue is something of a red herring at the moment, I don't deny the issue is real but given the growing economies globally pouring noxious gases into the atmosphere any little bit I do is a bit of a drop in the ocean!

That said I do recycle and upcycle where I can, don't disagree with the charges to go into city centres etc and I compost etc.

bugslett

crv1963 wrote: »

I do think the environment issue is something of a red herring at the moment, I don't deny the issue is real but given the growing economies globally pouring noxious gases into the atmosphere any little bit I do is a bit of a drop in the ocean!

That said I do recycle and upcycle where I can, don't disagree with the charges to go into city centres etc and I compost etc.

Precisely, we do what we can. Until and if there is a big shift in the way the world works, we are limited on out impact and contributions to pollution.

Takedap

vulcanrtb wrote: »

Not flying is one of the most important things you can do in terms of helping the environment.

Not using the mega-sized cruise ships is probably more useful. Or more correctly, not building them in the first place.

rnj

unpopular opinion:

I find it interesting we blame other countries for polluting yet continue happily buying stuff made there (i.e. china)

I also think the biggest damaging environmental impact we have is having kids.