There were mainly two reasons why I chose to study in the UK.
1. Cardiff's reputation as an excellent school for journalism
2. The desire to travel and explore Europe.
I'm glad that the school has well lived up to my expectations. But the exploring is something I still have to begin. Before leaving India, I had a list of countries I wanted to visit. Some of them being Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Morroco (maybe this in itself is unrealistic but I'd love to visit many more if I could afford it). The biggest draw was ofcourse the fact that travelling from the UK to any of these countries is much cheaper than if I had to do it from back home. Low cost airline tickets seem like such a boon. I secretly always wanted to be a travel journalist - visit exotic countries, explore different cultures and lifestyles, write and make documentaries about them, be as prolific, profound and entertaining as Ian Wright.. ah. It would be a start to the career I've always dreamt of. I'd go for interviews, tell prospective employers about my adventures, bowl them over with my technical, research and journalistic skills (whenever I master those i.e. ). Things would go well, I'd get a job on a travel show with the BBC and life would be perfect.
And then I happened to read Monbiot. In his online portal turnuptheheat.org, George Monbiot criticizes one of my favourite bands, Coldplay. He doesn't say their music is shit, but accuses lead singer Chris Martin of being a hypocritical environmentalist. Twisted logic, one of Coldplay's songs on the album X&Y talks about how people should make right decisions when it comes to treating the planet. However Chris flies home at least 2-3 times between gigs in his private jet, probably hundreds of times in a year, burning 0.68 litres of kerosene per every kilometer travelled. The Airbus A321, a standard medium-haul commercial plane on the other hand burns 0.027 litres per kilometre per passenger (1) . Do I need to say anymore?
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I believe Mr. Monbiot, while raising the issue effectively, has also made unfortunate claims and alliances, which undermine our ability to find a solution. Specifically:
1) Alliances with NIMBY groups.
Monbiot has written of his willingness to ally with what he describes as NIMBY groups. I don't know what experience he has had; here in Toronto, the local group calling for the closure of an airport used to bring hearts to dying children also promoted a world's fair for Toronto, which according to the official plan would have put six million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. NIMBY behaviour, in my experience, has included that kind of profoundly counterproductive advocacy, as well as outright environmental racism. Making alliances with NIMBY groups strikes me as very unwise.
2) Intemperate, unscientific rhetoric
3) Leaving out the effects of the car
Monbiot et al often quote the theory that aviation emissions cause "radiative forcing", but he appears to ignore the huge effect black-topping millions of hectares for private cars has on the Earth's albedo. I have calculated that the road allowances for the American interstate highway system alone absorb about as much energy in the form of sunlight as the United States uses for all purposes. Roads cause a substantial amount the "urban heat island" warming, to say nothing of the carbon required to mill, transport, and lay billions of tonnes of asphalt and concrete, or the disruption and energy waste caused by slashing super-highways across neighbourhoods, farms, and towns. Yet on "turn up the heat", Monbiot writes of auto gas mileage (which has declined over the years) that we can do better (maybe true), while ignoring the improvements of energy efficiency in aircraft, and specifically attacking those who want to improve it.
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