To travel, or not to travel?

I was very happy to catch up with a friend this week that I’ve known for over thirty years. She has been doing some medical teaching in Rwanda periodically, which seems both noble and adventurous. I also had a family member who left for Thailand this week, and friends who just returned from Costa Rica. In Northern Ontario, it’s quite common for people to travel at this time of year, to escape the cold briefly, feel the sun on their faces, shed the boots and coats, swim in the ocean. The winter can feel so long, starting in October and lasting, often, until May. The travel urge is understandable, and I love a week of sun in February, but should we do it? For work, for play, for any reason?

The arguments are many and multifaceted: air travel is hard on the environment, contributing substantially to global warming. Overseas travel is particularly bad. On the other hand, many of these island nations depend on the tourism for their economy. Some argue that’s a bad thing, because their dependence creates major issues when COVID happens, or a natural disaster, or anything that makes their location less appealing.
 
What about the Rwanda example? Is it okay to travel overseas to help out developing countries, but not just for pleasure? Is it okay if the two overlap? What about travel for work?
These questions open up others: are we helping when we work in developing countries? (In this case, by training the local physicians, I would think definitely yes). Is work-related travel even necessary in a post-COVID, Zoom-capable era? It is if there are factories that need inspection, or mines, or large groups that need to come to a consensus. At least, those are arguments I’ve heard.
 
Other considerations: the enormous number of jobs within the airline and airport industries. The transportation of large numbers of people without using individual cars. The general benefits of travel, including but not limited to: exposure to other cultures, preservation of history, appreciation of beautiful scenery within the manmade and natural worlds, experience with different foods, languages, textiles, art, education, politics, wildlife…the list could go on.
Then again, some of the world’s most precious artifacts and animals are threatened by global warming, pollution, overexposure, or all of the above. I’m thinking of the crumbling Parthenon, the bleached-out Great Barrier Reef, the tigers and sharks and elephants hunted for their body parts.
 
Last year we went to Maui during the humpback whale mating season. In the ocean, when we swam underwater, we could hear the whales communicating. It was a magical experience. Does that excuse the flight to get there? By contributing to global warming, even in a tiny way, am I harming the very beings I was so excited to see and hear? It’s not the same to see a video, or a photo in a book. It’s just not the same.
 
It’s easy, of course, to justify travel. The plane is going, with or without me, is the easiest argument. But during COVID, when no one was travelling, the plane didn’t go. If people don’t book a flight, it doesn’t fly. At the same time, travel can bring joy, when there isn’t a lot of joy spreading around right now. So what’s the answer?
 
Unfortunately, there is no answer. We each have to do what we can, what feels right to us. Windmills, solar panels, electric cars, cycling, recycling, composting, gardening, tree planting, conserving water, limiting waste, non-consumerism, reusable bags. It will never be enough, I know that. I make no excuses, I make my choices. What about yours?