Re: [gep-ed] individualization

[Linda Shi]

Hello all,

I agree with Susi that these questions are deeply personal and that I struggle 
daily with the cognitive dissonance between my lived life and knowledge of the 
impacts of my personal actions. To function on a day-to-day basis, I just shove 
that to the background, knowing that I can't become so overwhelmed by the 
weight of that knowledge that it impedes my ability to act.

In response to Debra's point, I would argue that the discussion about academic 
flying is quite institutional in its orientation, not individualized, in the 
sense of universities, state university systems, national associations, and the 
broader institution of "education". Having children is a very personal choice, 
yet we promote family planning, free education especially for girls, welfare 
and social services for the elderly - all of which enable greater choice for 
individuals in ways that often result in reduced fertility rates. The more 
universities take actions to reduce emissions on other fronts, the greater air 
travel emissions will be as a proportion of total emissions. Yet our 
accounting, whether of cities or schools, usually doesn't even include air 
travel in carbon footprints. So just as schools are discussing fossil free, 
carbon neutrality, net zero buildings, etc., why not have air travel be part of 
that conversation?

There is as yet no replacement for air travel, the way there is for coal power 
or meat, etc. Only behavior change can reduce emissions which makes 
"institutional change" on this front that much more difficult. I've noticed 
that the more elite the school, the more global its profile, its "engaged" 
teaching, and the lower ranked, the more local and regional. Cornell has a 
fossil free goal - and it does not include travel, which is high given that we 
are "centrally isolated". Carbon neutrality for buildings signals progressive 
thinking, elite standing, but air travel signals elite status. Thus we come 
back to Susi's point about what it mean to create knowledge, to have impact, to 
be respected? To change air travel in academia is not just a tech swap out, but 
seems to require whole new ways of collaborating, engaging, and teaching. I see 
very little appetite for such levels of institutional change.

Linda

PS I am new to #flyless, but found this article helpful. 
https://ethical.net/climate-crisis/the-flyless-and-nofly-movements-would-you-stop-flying-if-you-knew-its-true-cost/

---

Linda Shi

Assistant Professor

Department of City and Regional Planning

Cornell University

213 Sibley Hall

linda...@cornell.edu




From: gep-ed@googlegroups.com  on behalf of Debra 
Javeline 
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2019 12:53 PM
To: ''GEP-Ed List''
Subject: [gep-ed] individualization


Dear Michael and all,



I was excited to have Michael chime in, because I thought he might offer a 
different perspective based on the 2001 GEP article on individualization.  
Curbing our flying behavior is undoubtedly more consequential than recycling 
(or even planting a tree, buying a bike, etc.), but is it the best use of our 
collective energy to focus on individual responsibility?  If the issues are 
mainly structural and institutional, are these “to fly or not to fly” debates a 
distraction from the bigger debates about how we could collectively influence 
outcomes, if at all?



(I do understand that discussions about flying involve changing our 
professional institutions, but in the grand scheme of atmospheric collapse and 
our limited time and energy, don’t political institutions matter more?)



I don’t have answers or judgment.  I do less frequent conference and research 
travel than most, I have been a vegetarian for 35 years, and I don’t even own a 
smart phone (due to concern about e-waste – my 15-year-old flip phone still 
works, and I don’t even use that phone too much, preferring to look up and 
around).  But… I have three kids with Western consumption patterns, so the 
planet isn’t necessarily better off for having me in it.



Like many of us, I struggle with “walking the walk,” but what kind of walk?  
Michael’s ideas about political action (and others who write in the same 
spirit) seem worthy of attention.



All the best,

Debra



*

Debra Javeline

Associate Professor | Department of Political Science | University of Notre 
Dame | 2060 Jenkins Nanovic Halls | Notre Dame, IN 46556 | tel: 
574-631-2793



Fellow, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, 
Kellogg Institute for International Studies, Nanovic 
Institute for European Studies

Core faculty, Russian and East European Studies 
Program

Affiliated faculty, Notre Dame Environmental Change 
Initiative



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Re: [gep-ed] KLM's Fly Responsibly Campaign

[Susanne Moser]

Funny that the first ad under this article was about cheap first-class 
tickets...Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
 Original message From: Aseem Prakash  Date: 
7/11/19  1:48 AM  (GMT-05:00) To: gep-ed@googlegroups.com Subject: [gep-ed] 
KLM's Fly Responsibly Campaign 










Here is a short commentary on KLM's "Fly Responsibly" Campaign:











Air Travel And Climate Change: KLM's "Fly Responsibly" Campaign









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/








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Re: [gep-ed] KLM's Fly Responsibly Campaign

[Harrison, Kathryn]

Hi All,

It talked to Steve Smith last month about options for APSA to welcome virtual 
participation and virtual panels, and apparently one of the obstacles is hotel 
bandwidth, especially when they’ve got a few thousand conference attendees on 
their wifi.  Others will know better than I how real that is (from hotels, not 
Steve!), but there have to be ways to get around that in this day and age.

My hope is that STEPP could “step up” to serve as a pilot for how this might 
work.  Aseem, am I right that you’re currently on the STEPP council? If yes, do 
you think this is something that might be put on the agenda for the business 
meeting at the upcoming meeting? I’ll be attending as well.

Kathy



Kathryn Harrison
Professor of Political Science
University of British Columbia


From:  on behalf of Aseem Prakash 
Reply-To: "as...@u.washington.edu" 
Date: Thursday, July 11, 2019 at 7:57 AM
To: "gep-ed@googlegroups.com" 
Subject: [gep-ed] KLM's Fly Responsibly Campaign








Here is a short commentary on KLM's "Fly Responsibly" Campaign:






Air Travel And Climate Change: KLM's "Fly Responsibly" 
Campaign


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/
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