Who’s up for giving up flying?/Should we have an environmental audit for theatre?

Convener(s): Lucy F and Suzanna

Participants: Julian Crouch, Lee Simpson, Emma Stenning

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 Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

Suzanna has given up flying. Lucy is about to decide to give up flying (she thinks!)…Well, maybe, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Or it’s work. But, then, these distinctions don’t really make much difference to the environment itself…

A lot of this discussion was about the things we would lose and the things we would gain from giving up flying…

SLOW IT DOWN…giving up flying can be part of slowing down. Wonderful thinking is done on trains, in a way it’s not on planes. As the landscape passes by, thoughts work their way to the surface.

ADVENTURE…. When was the last time you had an adventure? Get off that plane bound for two weeks sterile sun bathing inside the resort perimeter, and spend a couple of weeks traveling to Corfu by train and boat….

I KNOW, I KNOW BUT I JUST CAN’T….Often people are clear in their thinking that, yes, flying a big help in screwing the planet and has to stop, but, God, it’s hard to say ‘NO’ to that flight when there’s such a good reason waiting for you at the other end. Working abroad in theatre is sometimes the most rewarding and meaningful work we do, so it’s really hard to give this up. And what if other countries want our work more than this one does? Could I do what I do and not fly? Would I have to travel over by boat for a week before a meeting or job in my own time?

LOOK, CAN’T I JUST CARBON OFFSET MY FLIGHT?…Hmmm, nice idea, but based on bad science. Basically, planting more trees is not going to magically eradicate the carbon from a flight. Unfortunately, there’s nothing quite as effective as just not doing it in the first place.

IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN ANYWAY….like death. So why not just keep doing what we do until then? An, ah ha, if there were only one million flights left is it not better they go to artists trips than business trips? Can little me really do a thing?