On being a hypocrite

When I told a fellow eco-minded person that I was planning on writing a blog about my travels he warned me not to make it an ‘eco-blog’ if I was going to be catching flights as I would be ‘slaughtered by the green brigade’. Of course, I don’t think he realises that only my parents (well, just mum) read my blogs, but one can hope that one day they will be popular enough to be criticised…

It wasn’t the first time I realised I was going against something I believed in. When my boyfriend and I first planned the trip, I pondered over how we could come to this side of the world whilst keeping our carbon footprint low. In a separate blog post I will talk about some of the ways we have attempted to be low-waste and ‘leave no trace’ as possible.

I came across a really incredible website called seat61 which was started by one man to help people use trains instead of flights. However, it would’ve taken a month and thousands of pounds in train tickets to come to South East Asia via train, not including food or other expenses. So sadly, the only viable way for us to come was via flight. I suppose I should ask myself why I felt entitled to travel and put more fossil fuels into the atmosphere purely so I can enjoy myself.

The main reason is probably the same as many other travellers’: I hope that this travelling stint will allow me to undergo great personal growth as well making connections and seeing beautiful places, and unlearning the things we believe to be the only or best way of life. Western culture has a habit of positing itself as the most efficient way of doing things, and the best way to prove that wrong is to witness and experience different cultural norms and lifestyles.

I feel hugely conflicted that I am able to travel whilst I know how awful flights are, and that I am in a position of great privilege to be able to embark on this adventure, whilst other non-western countries, such as Pakistan, are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, despite being way under their threshold of carbon allowance.

In sum, I must admit that I have no excuse, only that staying at home was leaving me restless, and I was determined to escape the feeling of being lost and that a career was the only thing that defined my worth (how cliche!). 

George Monbiot, an environmental and political activist that writes for The Guardian, says that he’d ‘rather be a hypocrite than a cynic‘, and this line has brought me a lot of comfort in my eco-journey. He writes that environmentalists are often hypocritical as they hold themselves to high standards and invariably fail. But isn’t it better to fall short of your high aspirations than to give in and be completely pessimistic about the climate crisis? 

If we all do what we feel we are able to do (grow our own food, use more public transport, cut out plastic where possible, switch to renewable energy etc), even if at the same time we know there are areas of our lives which are not sustainable (i.e. fast fashion, air travel) but we are not yet ready/ able to cut them out fully, surely that is better than saying fuck it and giving up completely? 

I welcome any thoughts on this, and reiterate that it whilst it should not be the responsibility of the individual to come up with solutions for climate change, but since many of the world’s governments are failing in their responsibilities to protect the earth’s resources, we have to act now in whatever means necessary. 

Please, if you have not yet heard about what is happening in Pakistan, or in Somalia, please consider donating to either of these causes. 

Also please consider signing these petitions about causes a bit closer to home. 

Hand on heart, 

Eva x