The author loves flying as it allows them to travel between worlds quickly, but they feel bad about the large carbon footprint that flying creates. To offset this, the author brought seeds from France to plant olive and lemon trees in India with a friend. In 2020, the author plans to fly once to check on the trees but promises to avoid single-use plastics and consume only local produce to reduce their impact.

1. I love flying!
As a new year begins, I wonder what more I could do for the
planet. Even if I feel like I’m already doing a lot, I must admit
that I love flying...
I do what I can to make my little world greener: I travel mostly on
public transport; often by bike and on foot; I recycle every single piece
of aluminium; I spend hours picking up cigarette butts and pieces of
plastic on the beach to preserve the marine fauna. On the other hand, I
love India. And I don’t see how I could get there without flying.
Flying for me is like falling in the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. You
go from one world to another in no time at all. It’s like magic.
A deal with
my footprint
Flying makes me feel bad though. It hurts my soul of attentive
gardener and hiker attracted by the wilderness. I can’t imagine how
big my ecological footprint has grown between Zurich and Bombay.
Huge!
But then I had an idea: all I had to do was take some seeds to India.
Future trees of Provençal origin that should grow beautifully
between the coconut trees and make me forget slightly the size of
my footprint.
Which I did. I entrusted these seeds, potential olive and lemon trees, to
my friend Godwin, who carefully cultivates his magnificent garden,
surrounded by coconut trees. My way of providing my own carbon
offset, so to speak. Three or four olive trees and as many lemon trees
must be the equivalent of a round trip Zurich-Bombay.

2. The mote in
the adversary’s eye
Sometimes I have to sayI’ma little irritated about all this talk on the
futureof theplanet. Not to mention the conferences and other
meetings of pusillanimous governments that spend taxpayers’ money
with the solepurpose of signing documents that make no sense at all.
Promises are all well and good, but it is the actions that count.
And here, surprise, the use of pesticides has increased by 24% in
France in 2018. The consumption of streaming content, which requires
insane energy, accounts for about half of the data stream passing
through the American network at weekends. A strong upward trend,
this side of the Atlantic too.
I’m stopping Netflix
and PET bottles
So, sometimes I think you can hold up signs like “There is no
planet B", "Claim the Climate" or "When it’s melted, it’s blasted",
when you change your wardrobe at Zara’s every three months and
you spend several hours a day with EarPods in your ears, streaming
whatever.
I promise, in 2020, I will do something for the planet. I will stop using
Netflix. But I will fly. One round trip only. To see how Godwin’s olive
trees are doing and bring him more seeds to turn his garden greener.
I promise when I get there, I’ll buy zero PET bottles. I’ll only drink
coconut milk. I will wash myself in the sea and eat only local produce.
I promise, I will do my best to calm my conscience and reduce my
footprint. In 2020, I will make my dreams come true.
Zurich, January 2020