Who Gets to Fly, Now?

Ami Chen Mills-Naim
5 min readJan 23, 2020
Photo pulled from this compelling article in Science Magazine: https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2019/05/why-some-climate-scientists-are-saying-no-flying

The accelerating cascade of news about the frightening, exponential rate of global heating due to human-caused green house gase emissions (GHG’s) — and “feedback loop” systems of GHG’s released from the arctic tundra, seas and elsewhere due to rapid planetary melting of snow and ice has many of us considering our carbon footprints with a bit more gravity than before.

Greta Thunberg, our role model purist and a personal Shero, chose to take a carbon-free sail boat from Europe to New York to speak before the United Nations and generally, does not fly. In Germany and Europe, flights have been down by as much as 12 percent due to “flight shame” or flygskam.

Flying and resultant “traveling” emit roughly eight percent of our overall GHG’s and yet there is also some argument to be made that flight emissions contribute to the “global dimming effect.” So while we are heating the atmosphere through flying, by adding to the blanket of heating molocules in our atmosphere, we are also creating a short-lived layer of sun ray reflection that is keeping our planet a bit cooler overall.

What a mess!

IMHO, a gradual yet consistent decrease in flying is in order and there are so many considerations. Who gets to fly, and who does not, and for what reasons? Here’s my list, ranked in order of who should get to fly most to … well, the least. Take it with a grain of salt, and a dry martini or a potent blunt. We need all the help we can get these days.

Who Gets To Fly

  1. Rock stars. Because we will always need rock and roll.*
  2. Russell Brand. Who seems like a rock star. For trying to help, for using his privilege to help, even if it seems, sometimes, a bit messy. Also, because I’ve always had a crush on him.
  3. Environmental and climate activists, indigenous activists, scientists and those working on Earth-friendly, regenerative mitigation and adaptation solutions. Because they are the most important people on Earth right now, with the most important jobs on Earth. Put them in First Class, for God’s sake. And please stop harassing them for flying. They have been doing far more good work on this issue, probably, than you or I.
  4. Me. Just kidding. I’m cutting back on flying. I purchase carbon offsets to…

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Ami Chen Mills-Naim

Global teacher, mother, author, journalist: SF Chronicle and Examiner, Inc. Mag, Metro, 3 CNPA First Place awards. See “Heart of America” on YouTube