Most environmentalists I know are dedicated air travelers. Somehow they are able to put on their enviro-blinders, don their cognitive dissonance ear muffs and board that deathplane with passion. It’s exciting. Lots of important people all around you. And you are part of the elite. The select. The ones the bombers want to kill. Officialdom’s Chosen Ones. The avec permis.
Flying defines you as Important. Special. Precious cargo.*
Even enviros want to feel Important. Special. Precious.
In Britain, where air travel has caught on like wildfire over the past 20 or so years (they used to travel in civilized style, i.e., by train), there seems to be an increasingly heightened awareness of the environmental destructiveness of air travel–yup, even their Institution of Civil Engineers.
I keep coming back to Monbiot (my fave enviro writer) and his excellent analysis of the environmental impact of flying. No matter the fuel burned, or the technology employed, flying will always be a filthy, destructive endeavor. He also offers a good solution, guaranteed to horrify speed freak environmentalists (and speed freaks of all stripes).
On a personal note, I’m now going on 9 years of no flying; aiming for at least 10! 9 years of unimportance. Lack of specialness. Not precious in the least.