I’m not qualified to speak on the birds, but I do think most tourism is just consumerism in a different location. I think the negative impact varies so much person to person and trip to trip, but especially with airplane emissions, I think modern tourism is a problem.
20 years ago the middle class wasn’t going on trips every year like a lot are now. When I was a kid it was rare for non-rich people to fly.
The middle class is a large group and flights are high emission. People blame private jets and billionaires, but the middle class far outnumbers them.
Emissions dropped in 2020, pretty much the only year they did. Almost no tourism, and working from home. Fossil fuel usage tanked and we didn’t have to do much except stay local. And working at home benefits a lot of people, including those who can’t because it reduces traffic for their commutes.
We need to take climate change seriously, and that includes not flying.
Yeah as much as I’ve loved traveling, it feels like it’s increasingly difficult to defend. Besides the environmental/cultural/labor issues, the whole enlightened “experiences over things/products” argument is hard to make when those experiences are just as commodified. If your experience is contingent on just paying enough money to do it, the only difference is that you don’t have a durable good in your hands at the end of the transaction
The brainwashing is real. I often find myself thinking "I need to buy something from the gift shop to remember this moment," but then I'm like, "what the fuck is wrong with me?! I took pictures!"
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u/[deleted] Jan 01 '24
I’m not qualified to speak on the birds, but I do think most tourism is just consumerism in a different location. I think the negative impact varies so much person to person and trip to trip, but especially with airplane emissions, I think modern tourism is a problem.