Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm wondering if I'm pretty much the only person that thinks this way...?

I was just out with some friends having a drink and a feed, as you do, and they tell me they are about to leave to fly up to Darwin for a few days for a holiday... Fine.... But then in about 3-4 weeks they are going to fly over to Bali to take the kids for a holiday, then the plan is to head to New Zealand in September for a fishing trip, then back again to New Zealand for another trip at Christmas with the kids, meanwhile, one partner is flying up north and back every 2 - 3 weeks, month after month...

When they told me about their fishing trip to NZ coming up they said, "do you want to come, it will be great?" I said, "Na sorry I don't fly unless I have to." This was met by confusion, "but you've flown before, don't you like planes?" To which I replied that I don't want to fly unless I have to because of the footprint.

The response was, "but the plane is flying there anyway."

Are there others that get the "flying has a massive footprint thing?" or am I a bit of a silent minority?

I just can't justify this flying all over the place for no real reason, but no one else seems to get it....

No, no, no you are not silent when I want to fly somewhere. Never, ever huh!
I just have to plant lots more trees.
Sometimes you just have to fly because um I would it would take to long to get to the flower show by train, and you can't take that much tome off work, cause you win a competition and becasue your son has left the state. Is that 3 good reasons to fly somewhere?

I am with you EB.

I always want to do things in an environmentally friendly way.

Too many people either don't care, don't understand or want to leave it up to somebody else.

I was talking to an uncle who works in the oil and gas industry a few years ago about climate change etc and he simple said he doesn't care as he wont be around to be affected. When given the question "what about your children?" his reply was "they can deal with it".

Faye: I have plenty of space if you want to plant more trees - about 20 hectares - any one want to donate trees?

Yeah well, I'm always harassing you about it, as you know all to well Faye.... You must think that I sound like a broken record...

Well and then I hear today was it the business council are recommending a $10 a ton carbon tax bought in over many years with exemptions for all export companies so that no one gets adversely affected. Does no one get the fact that we HAVE to put a price on carbon, some people are going to suffer?

It's a bit like saying I'm going on a diet, but I still want to keep eating everything I eat normally...

I guess we all have priorities in different areas. One of my aims was to be self sufficient, before it was a buzz word. I still am leaning that way, I try to do, what I can, and am more alternate than most of my friends and even family. Have always been frugal, just am, it is in the genes. It wasn't something that was learnt.
Flying wasn't even something I thought about as wrong until Joel started making a big deal about it.
I do see politicians getting together for interstate meetings and realise what a farce the whole thing is when they talk about climate change having just contributed to it.
Sometimes you can only do your own little bit, I try. (My dad says I am very trying, Eddy does for that matter too, oh well.)
Everything gives you cancer- coffee, wine, sun- looks like I'm doomed anyway.
Will focus on growing fish, rabbits, chickens, fruit and veges and making it easier.
Uh that reminds me, one of my standard responses -
Oh yeah, "well I can't be good at everything"

Iv never flown due to.... well not wanting too, im not a bird but when u think of it, its now 2nd nature too just pop on a plane due to low airfares etc so the increased demand on flying makes them fly more planes etc......

I think that people should enjoy our wide and wonderfull country before flying off and seeing the rest of the world

Im the kind of person who loves a Stay at home holiday Conserve energy, save the footprint and spend time with the family in the home!!!

On the same theme: is shipping food from one side of a country to the other (or from one country to another) ok?

For example (and I could be wrong) I heard that a supermarket in Carnarvon sells bananas from Queensland when they grow them up the road. Every chance the bananas grown in Carnarvon are sent to the competitors shops in Queensland.

I also agree with Jamey: there is so much to see in our very own backyard - why the need to go explore someone elses?

I'm still working slowly bit by bit on you Faye, but this isn't aimed at you at all... Just for once...

Guess I'm just doing what I do.. 5 years ago there were bugger all people doing AP, I was, and I was pushing and talking about it all over the place and people started catching on.. It was something I believed in, something I couldn't believe that other people weren't doing.

So bugger it, I figure I have to start talking about this ATM, because I think people need know about it... I can see how much of an incredible waste it is. The biggest turning point I had was when I flow back from Melbourne about 4 years ago after attending the talks by Rakocy, Savidov etc, when the plane was half filled with young school kids who were flying interstate to play sport against other schools. I just don't get this....

I haven't flown since then and I won't unless it's really necessary. I've had people offer to pay for my flights to different places around the world, just recently to southern America to go and talk about AP, to look at selling our stuff over there... Brilliant business opportunity, spread the word, grow the business, and doesn't that look good, being flown around the world, I must know what I'm talking about surely if people are paying to fly me places.. But no, the cost isn't worth it, I'm not gunna try and make money or increase a profile by flying all over the place... Bugger it, I'd rather fail as a business and keep true to what I believe in, to what is right..

Oh and Carnarvon bananas are also sent from Carnarvon, down to Perth and then back to Carnarvon, for all the major supermarkets up there.. An 1800km trip...

Video Conference EB?

1800km trip to sell local produce. Stupid isn't it?

I will always look at holidaying around the state before flying, but do go back home to England to see the fam, and will look at flying around for conferences probably once a year. But I do t see the point I buys was people flying around the world for meetings that could be conducted on the computer with ease ..

Its just been made too easy to fly and its cheap.
As for shipping food across the country or the world same thing and more so here as our government crackheads reckon free trade is a good thing. Free for every other country and it costs us. I hate the way governments in this country treat our farmers

How bad is flying. I was looking at a small plane to get to the coast every now and then and thought an hr ish on a plane must be better than 8 to 12 hrs by car. I guess its different for larger planes.

PS I haven't got one yet. Bank keeps telling me I need a licence first.

I think flying is a privelege and pretty exciting. The average Australian doesn't fly as much as your friends in the first post but I guess the current prices make it easier for more to do so. Personally I would much prefer to travel overland, you get to see more and enjoy the ride but nowadays I would rarely find the time to get anywhere and back again within a holiday break, isn't Perth one the most Isolated capital cities in tne world? A few years ago I travelled overland/sea from Osaka to Bangkok which was amazing but had to fly the rest of the way because of time.
You can only go so far though, would you prefer 20,000 cars and busses driving back and forth to the pilbra and other mining regions evry week. As for kids on the plane, they would have been an interstate team, training and fundraising for months for an adventure of a lifetime. Nothing wrong with that.

Yes - flying can be much more environmentally friendly when the trip is nessesary. It is a magnatude more friendly to cart a bunch of people in a cattle troff with wings then to have dozens of cars going to the same place. On the otherhand if, like me, you will fly anytime anwhere just for fun, then it isn't so much. But then again, how environmentally friendly is it to drive to the coast just to pull some fish out of the water when you have plently right in your backyard EB?