Skip to main content

Is it ethical to take a vacation? A question I asked myself this week.

Life can be stressful here in modern America.  Sadly we have become a country where a parent may worry that they will never see their child again as they board that school bus or go out with friends.  Not to mention the additional stress of worrying about our countries direction; and the direction of the planet, as a whole.

We live in trying times, but worrying about the future all the time is only a recipe for sleepless nights and ulcers.  We all need that proverbial margarita by the pool sometimes.  In many ways I looked forward to taking the past week off and traveling to Niagara Falls and upstate New York with my wife.

It has been nearly 30 years since either of us had been to the Falls, and on the way up we passed solar farm after solar farm and more than a few windmills generating power, we even passed a hydroelectric plant.   Green power is the future and in a way my heart sung that so much renewable power was being generated.

However I also thought about the gas that we were burning as the miles under our wheels increased.  I also thought about the morals of taking this time off.   If I claim to be working towards a better world, how could I justify undoing any progress I have made by traveling hundreds of miles in a single week?

Would it have not been better to stay at home and accomplish some things that I had been putting off?  Would it not have been better to stay home - trying to reduce my carbon footprint even more - than burning gasoline?

Would a staycation have been a better option?  I will actually be doing exactly that for a week in July, staying at home and working around the house.

 

I'm not going to justify why it is or is not ethical to take a vacation.   However such breaks are needed for both our physical - and mental - health.  It gives our bodies and minds a moment to relax, to heal and rejuvenate.  Even taking a day off now and again is good for the proverbial soul.

These are questions we have to ask ourselves however as we face an ever increasing uncertain future.

Emily Thomas, in her wonderful book The Meaning of Travel, argues that travel is more than the movement of an individual between points on a map, it is engaging with our fear of the unknown and to satisfy our natural curiosity.   

It seems that we have to travel as a species.  We cannot be like the serfs of old and bound to the dirt, although there is some evidence that they actually worked less hours than we modern Americans do. 

Recently there have been questions about waste in the cruise industry, and talk about the carbon footprint of a single plane flight.  Anyway you slice it, we have to cut our travel in some way.   Or the industries will either have to change voluntary or be forced to change.  Neither seems likely to happen anytime soon.

What you can do, and I do highly recommend travel to expand your mind and to relax, is to travel as ethnically as possible.  For example, travel by train is not only a more relaxing way to travel but is better for the overall environment.  

Bus tours are another option as well.  

If your looking to travel internationally then, generally speaking, any company that is truly responsible travel businesses might be affiliated with international organizations such as World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy, or the Rainforest Alliance for example.   They may also have certification from organizations such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council or the Center for Responsible Travel, which prove that they have met certain recognized standards for sustainability.  

Pack for a purpose as well depending on where your trip may take you.  



The best thing we can do when we travel is just be smart about how we travel.  While I'm not sure that zero waste travel is possible, we can all follow some simple steps to reduce our carbon footprints.   For example rent that hybrid or electric car instead of the sports car.   Much of what you already do at home conservation wise can be done on the road as well.

I can't tell you what to do, or how to live your life...and frankly I didn't give much thought to any possible damage that our trip did until I passed all those solar panels and windmills.  All I can do is plan better for the next trip.

All I can do is learn from this, and hopefully you can too.  Travel, I think, is needed for our minds and souls and I'm reminded of the words of Jack Kerouac:  "Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain."  

Just try to do so ethically and in an environmentally friendly way.  


Labels:
Location: Stoneboro, PA 16153, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

What all the cool kids are reading.

Maybe we need to rethink invasive species???

Hi. As the writer of the post and feel that I need to clarify something. I do not advocate the planting of invasive species. The point that I'm trying to make, and clearly didn't, is that perhaps we should be thinking about an invasive species in a different light. Apples, figs and other crops are clearly non native to America and Europe but are widely cultivated because they have use to humans as a food source, animal feed, etc. Kudzu is an edible plant and although it is clearly harmful can it be used someway by humans? It's a food source, it's been used as a cloth and is showing some use as a building material. All I'm trying to do is to create discussion on how we can use invasive plants in new ways.   It's mid April here in Western Pennsylvania and so far it's been warm and wet.  The buzz of lawnmowers fill the air as I gallivant through my back yard collecting dandelions to make some tea and bread with them.  I had always known that they w...
1 comment
Read more

Random Parts and Pieces - Let's pretend we're dead

 Before my mother passed back in October of 2020, she and my dad has basically consolidated their lives to a small 2 room apartment building.   In the brutal logic that both my mom and dad practiced it made sense.   Less to maintain as they grew older meant less to worry about. Their sons were married and had moved away from home a long time ago. They didn't need much or wanted much.  They lived simple lives and would rather spend their days on things they enjoyed like watching a family of deer romp in a field that their balcony overlooked.  Going out to dinner and spending time with loved ones and family. When she passed unexpectedly and Gary, my brother, and I cleaned out the apartment, we were still amazed by the junk they had accumulated.   Somehow, we managed to get through the days.  When my dad passed , it was a little easier to not only deal with his passing, but to clean what he had left in his bedroom. The original paint and d...
2 comments
Read more

A fallen tree, mushrooms and me.

 Sometimes I think I'm more in love with the idea than the actual practice. I'm basically a lazy man, more in love with the concepts of homesteading and building an edible lawn/food forest than actually putting in the hard work to make it happen.   Sometimes however, things happen that present you with unexpected opportunities....if your smart enough to take advantage of them.   Recently we had a series of wind storms move through the area, the winds toppled trees, caused several electrical outages and even managed to damage roofs and homes in the area.  Luckily no one to my knowledge was hurt and the damage was minimal.  We did lose power for a few hours but never once considered running the generator as we were tucked in all cozy and warm. A decent sized maple tree did came crashing down in my yard on Saturday night and proved the old adage that if no one is there to see it, it does not make a sound.  Neither Sue or myself was aware of the problem till Su...
Post a Comment
Read more