Maybe We Should All Just Stay Home...

Is the planet asking that we live our "big life" closer to home?

Attending a Mozart concert in Salzburg

I love to travel.

Nothing fills me with more joy than sipping white wine and munching briny olives at an outdoor cafe in Spain or sharing a sauna with my relatives in northern Sweden.

I’m not alone. According to the vacationer, 52% of Americans plan to fly the (not so) friendly skies this summer. A plethora of travelers are writing and posting Instagram photos of amazing places and experiences that leave us all salivating and admittedly jealous.  

Meanwhile, fires are raging in Northern California and Oregon. Flooding is destroying crops and homes in the Midwest. Hurricanes are pounding Texas, and heat waves grip both coasts. News reports highlight the weather, calling it “unprecedented,” and “record-breaking.” They even talk about how these weather events are the result of climate change. 

What don’t they mention? Personal responsibility. What should we be doing other than turning on the AC and bemoaning the skyrocketing cost of homeowners insurance?

Maybe it’s time we all stayed home. 

Is there anything more exciting than booking your flight for your next big adventure? I think not. And full disclosure: as I write this, I’m packing my bag for a five-week “grand tour,” which includes hiking around Mt. Blanc, visiting cousins in Sweden, and sailing on my brother’s boat in southern England.

But here’s what’s behind your airline seat: 

Aviation has contributed around 4 % to global warming.

“The US emits more carbon dioxide from aviation than any other country – more than the emissions of the next 10 largest consumers of aviation fuel combined.” 

I can’t unknow that fact. And it makes me more uncomfortable than the bratty four-year-old sitting behind me who won’t stop kicking my seat. 

The climate isn’t the only one raging. In Barcelona residents are squirting tourists with water guns, protesting the huge crowds that have taken over their city and economy, making it unaffordable for those who live there.

Surely they don’t mean you and me though, right? 

Travel expands our horizons, lets us experience new parts of the world and stay connected to friends and family. We see things for the first time, embracing each new experience with the curiosity and excitement that we thought we’d left behind in childhood. Traveling takes us away from our everyday routine and responsibility. We can imagine different possibilities for ourselves. 

But, can we imagine we’re destroying the very thing we came to see?

A couple of years ago, My Dear Husband and I visited the Galapagos Islands whose 25,000 inhabitants host approximately 300,000 visitors a year. These islands are also home to some of the most rare and unique marine and wildlife – found only in this part of the world. How thrilled and privileged I felt to swim with Galapagos sharks, watch marine iguanas ply the waters, see the gigantic and ancient Galapagos Tortoises, and catch sight of a Blue-footed booby. 

Blue-footed Booby Photo by Hans-Jurgen Mager on Unsplash

A trip of a lifetime for sure, but one whose cost was born mostly by the residents of the Galapagos where freshwater is so scarce that households receive water for only a limited time each day. Black cisterns sit on rooftops like monarchs on a throne – a constant reminder of the precious resource. On Isabela Island, water has to be shipped in. Something to think about, my friend, the next time you leave the water running while you brush your teeth or wash dishes.

What does this mean for the people – and wildlife– who call the Galapagos Islands home? A lot of bottled water. An already antiquated sewage system that is unable to handle the increased demand and regularly overflows as pollution into the ocean. A fragile environment – one found nowhere else in the world  – paid the price for my privilege. While we were visiting Isabela island, one of three inhabited islands in the Galapagos, a guide took us to a penguin colony. “Two years ago there were more than thirty penguins here,” he said as we slowly motored past two penguins eyeing us from the black rocky outcropping. 

Our reefs are dying, our glaciers are melting, our forests are burning, and we continue to seek out our next big adventure. Perhaps it’s time to search closer to home. I love

Laura K Bray

‘s recent post about what she found when she did.

While I deserve any packets of stale pretzel bits or Bischoff cookies hurled at me from across the aisle of my transatlantic flight, I’d rather have you throw your thoughts into the comment section. Let’s start a conversation.