Hi Stacey:
Agree; we need to speak up. Universities must be leaders in climate policy and
as scholars who study climate change, we should become role models.
I think GEP should take the lead in greening the ISA ('i'll be happy to share
my correspondence with various organizations on this count).
Some of us may have heard of the FlyLess initiative (there is a[etition to
universities on change.org -- pls consider signing it).
I received an email from them with the following information
(https://click.e.change.org/f/a/m6MI0hVmC7eo6yzuiw1pzQ~~/AANj1QA~/RgRfA48uP0ROaHR0cHM6Ly9hY2FkZW1pY2ZseWluZ2Jsb2cud29yZHByZXNzLmNvbS8yMDE5LzA2LzE4L3VwZGF0ZXMtb24tdmFyaW91cy1mcm9udHMvVwNzcGNCCgAeLgohXYF0JzFSF3ByYWthc2guYXNlZW1AZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAC):
Exciting Initiatives in Academia and Beyond
[Image removed by
sender.]<https://academicflyingblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/unine.jpg>The
Université de Neuchâtel in Switzerland is encouraging its academic personnel to
decrease its flying<http://www.unine.ch/durable/deplacements-avion> and has
devised a
chart<http://www.unine.ch/files/live/sites/durable/files/CO2/UNINE_Arbre_decision.pdf>
to help them do so. In response to the efforts of the three PhD students at
the French-speaking university, the institution is asking researchers, faculty,
and graduate students to commit themselves to reduced
flying<http://www.unine.ch/files/live/sites/durable/files/CO2/Engagements%2003%20juin%2007h00.pdf>—renouncing,
for example, all flights within Switzerland and taking ground transportation
to all destinations within 450 kilometers of Neuchâtel—by publicly signing a
document<https://neuchatel.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_efUvxoF0glSUHS5>. As of
May 29, 166 individuals had signed.
[Image removed by
sender.]<https://academicflyingblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/european-citizens-initiative.png>Students
in Europe have launched a European Citizens’
Initiative<https://www.endingaviationfueltaxexemption.eu/> to get the European
Union to end the privileged status of air travel by imposing a tax on aviation
kerosene or fuel. The hope is that, by making flying more expensive, the tax
will lead to a reduction in air travel and spur greater investment in
sustainable modes of transportation. The initiators of the petition ask that
FlyingLess supporters from EU member-states consider signing. You can do so
here<https://eci.ec.europa.eu/008/public/#/initiative>.
[Image removed by
sender.]<https://academicflyingblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/aag.png>In
April, the Council of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) received a
petition signed by 234 AAG
members<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vJk8ICBwB4HO2wz1b_wk1YEXQnv5kZBVeTuS37Nr9Zo/edit>.
The document called upon the AAG Council to take far-reaching action to reduce
CO2 emissions related to the Annual Meeting—one which sees about 9,000
attendees from the United States and abroad, the vast majority of them flying
to and from the host city and producing thousands of tons of CO2
emissions<https://www.academia.edu/8422269/_Academic_Jet-setting_in_a_Time_of_Climate_Destabilization_Ecological_Privilege_and_Professional_Geographic_Travel_The_Professional_Geographer_Vol._66_No._2_2014_298-310>
in the process. Responding favorably to the petition, the Council is now in
the process of setting up a task force charged with redesigning the AAG
meetings and reducing their associated emissions at a depth and scale suggested
by climate science and bodies such as the International Panel on Climate
Change. Given the size and influence of the AAG, this development could have
impacts well beyond the organization.
[Image removed by
sender.]<https://academicflyingblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/concordialogo.gif>On
May 31, 2019, the Department of Geography, Planning &
Environment<https://www.concordia.ca/artsci/geography-planning-environment.html>
at Concordia University in Montreal adopted a “Flying Less
Policy<https://www.concordia.ca/content/dam/artsci/geography-planning-environment/docs/Flying_Less_Policy_GPE_June1_2019.pdf>”
that grew out of the work of its Climate Emergency
Committee<https://www.concordia.ca/artsci/geography-planning-environment/climate-emergency.html>.
The policy requires, among other things, that all faculty members in the
department disclose their annual flying activity (the results of which have
already been made public, collectively and anonymously, for
2018-2019<https://www.concordia.ca/artsci/geography-planning-environment/climate-emergency.html>).
The policy also commits faculty to prioritizing travel-free meetings and video
conferencing over physical travel and, when travel is needed, collective forms
of ground transportation for destinations within 12 hours of Montreal.
Moreover, it commits the Department to promoting a Flying Less policy at the
University as a whole, and within Quebec and Canada as well (by encouraging
external funders, for example, to work to decrease flying). In addition, the
new policy requires that the Department encourage students to participate in
activities that do not involve flying and provide financial support to make
such participation possible.
[Image removed by
sender.]<https://academicflyingblog.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/stay-grounded-1.png>Concrete
initiatives and strategies to reduce air travel will be the focus of a
flight-free conference in Barcelona from July 12-14. Organized by the Stay
Grounded<https://stay-grounded.org/> network—in conjunction with various civil
society groups and the Institute for Ecological Sciences and Technology (ICTA)
in Barcelona—the “Degrowth in Aviation<https://stay-grounded.org/conference/>”
conference will bring together social movements, non-governmental
organizations, and scientists. To register, go
here<https://annek517312.typeform.com/to/A5jlKC>.
In the Media
Efforts to reduce flying within the academy and far beyond are receiving
heightened attention in the media. A May 22 article in The Guardian (“Could you
give up flying? Meet the no-plane
pioneers<https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/may/22/could-you-give-up-flying-meet-the-no-plane-pioneers?CMP=share_btn_tw>”),
for instance, mentioned FlyingLess and linked to our website, leading to a
huge spike in visits. Meanwhile, TRT World, an international news channel,
recently broadcast a roundtable discussion addressing the question, “Can we
stop
flying?”<https://academicflyingblog.wordpress.com/www.trtworld.com/video/roundtable/no-flight-movement-can-we-stop-flying/5cfe6a82b9fa6764a9a53ccf>
Among the four participants was Milena
Büchs<https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/1183/dr-milena-buchs>, as
Associate Professor in Sustainability, Economics and Low-Carbon Transitions at
the University of Southampton (and a Flyingless petition
signatory<https://docs.google.com/document/d/14NZh0bZW2jB0qXjt-pl5A2_JfHtErQhxq06ZFd61sN8/edit>
).
The coverage manifests the growing movement in Europe critical of flying and
its impact. As POLITICO Europe
reports<https://www.politico.eu/article/the-popular-revolt-against-flying-climate-european-airlines-carbon-emissions/>,
“If it were a country, aviation would be the sixth-largest carbon polluter in
the world, eclipsing Germany.” The same article, whose title refers to a
“popular revolt against flying,” asserts that “campaigns to reduce air travel
emissions are gaining traction” in Europe.
This is especially evident in Sweden (see “#stayontheground: Swedes turn to
trains amid climate ‘flight
shame’<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/04/stayontheground-swedes-turn-to-trains-amid-climate-flight-shame?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other>”),
where the number of domestic air passengers has dropped eight percent (8%) in
recent months, after a three percent (3%) decrease the previous year, while
train travel has increased by similar figures. In response, the Swedish
government has stated that it would like to reintroduce overnight
trains<https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/sweden-has-invented-a-word-to-encourage-people-not-to-fly-and-it-s-working/>
to cities throughout Europe. (Elsewhere on the continent, there are other
favorable signs of the resurrection of night
trains<https://academicflyingblog.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1088&action=edit>.)
In France, the national government is considering a proposed ban on flights
within the
country<https://atwonline.com/eco-aviation/french-politicians-want-ban-internal-flights-cut-emissions>
on routes traveled by train in less than five hours. Regardless of what the
government decides, it will push for an aviation fuel tax at the next meeting
of the European Commission, according to France’s Environment Minister Francois
Rugy<https://pointmetotheplane.boardingarea.com/environment-flying-impact/>.
Such developments have not gone unnoticed within the aviation industry. At the
meeting in Seoul, South Korea of the International Air Transport Association in
early June, airline executives expressed worry that anti-flying sentiment will
“grow and spread” if they don’t win what one executive termed the
“communications battle.” (See “‘Flight shame’: How climate guilt is the newest
threat to
airlines<https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/flight-shame-how-climate-guilt-is-the-newest-threat-to-airlines-20190606-p51v3w.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1559960946>.”)
Recent academic articles
An article by researchers in the Department of Geography the University of
British Columbia, one based on a sample of 705 academics at their home
institution, found no relationship between the amount of professional air
travel and academic productivity. They also found, using a smaller sample size,
no significant difference in total air travel emissions between researchers
they characterized as “Green” (those who study topics related to environmental
sustainability) and “Not-green.” (See Seth Wynes, Simon D. Donner, Steuart
Tannason, Noni Nabors, “Academic air travel has a limited influence on
professional success,” Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 226, No. 20, 2019:
959-967<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652619311862#!>.)
Another just-published article by a team of researchers at the University of
Adelaide studied academic air travel—also among academics at their home
institution. The authors were particularly interested between institutional
pressures for academics to fly and their university’s formal commitment to
sustainability. Drawing on a one-year qualitative study, they found that, while
many academics are worried about climate change, only a small number are
willing to fly less for fear of damaging their careers. The authors conclude
that institutional and political shifts are needed to bring about individual
changes in behavior on a large scale. (See Melissa Nursey-Bray, Robert Palmer,
Bride Meyer-Mclean, Thomas Wanner, & Cris Birzer, “The Fear of Not Flying:
Achieving Sustainable Academic Plane Travel in Higher Education Based on
Insights from South Australia,” Sustainability, Vol. 11, No. 9, 2019:
2694<https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/9/2694>.)
________________________________________________
Aseem Prakash<https://faculty.washington.edu/aseem/>
Professor, Department of Political Science
Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences
Founding Director, UW Center for Environmental
Politics<http://depts.washington.edu/envirpol/>
University of Washington, Seattle
https://faculty.washington.edu/aseem/
________________________________
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of Stacy
VanDeveer <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, July 8, 2019 10:09 AM
To: Aseem Prakash; [email protected]
Subject: Re: [gep-ed] fyi
It looks like AAUP and NEA – large unions to which some of us belong – remain
silent about the GND idea. Might be time to do some speaking up.
-sv
--
Stacy D. VanDeveer
Professor & Graduate Program Director
Global Governance and Human Security
McCormack Graduate School of Policy & Global Studies
www.global.umb.edu<http://www.global.umb.edu>
From: Gep-Ed <[email protected]> on behalf of Aseem Prakash <[email protected]>
Reply-To: Aseem Prakash <[email protected]>
Date: Monday, July 8, 2019 at 12:56 PM
To: Gep-Ed <[email protected]>
Subject: [gep-ed] fyi
This commentary might interest some GEP members:
Labor Unions And the Green New Deal: Love, Hate, Or
Indifference?<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Fprakashdolsak%2F2019%2F07%2F06%2Flabor-unions-and-the-green-new-deal-love-hate-or-indifference%2F%23357a86c26b83&data=02%7C01%7Cstacy.vandeveer%40umb.edu%7C2599190248c34f555ef108d703c54390%7Cb97188711ee94425953c1ace1373eb38%7C0%7C0%7C636982018098582292&sdata=Dj3uukmygNWei8AqjT8RQHxHGEuHkyHvJYXrNTNcfeY%3D&reserved=0>
thanks,
Aseem
________________________________________________
Aseem Prakash
Professor, Department of Political Science
Walker Family Professor for the College of Arts and Sciences
Founding Director, UW Center for Environmental Politics
University of Washington, Seattle
https://faculty.washington.edu/aseem/<https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffaculty.washington.edu%2Faseem%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cstacy.vandeveer%40umb.edu%7C2599190248c34f555ef108d703c54390%7Cb97188711ee94425953c1ace1373eb38%7C0%7C0%7C636982018098592288&sdata=hSfGIuBHPUtz7yi%2Fu1dAJvx%2BingyEftG8WvsyHlmiMs%3D&reserved=0>
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