I clung to Aliza’s choices like lint: quiet, constant, and growing by the day. Short Uber rides, disposable coffee cups, next-day deliveries—she didn’t intend to feed me, but I thrive on habit. That’s why I was so excited when her inbox pinged: an acceptance to study abroad at the University of Sussex! A dream for her… and for me? A feast.
Her transatlantic flight alone would plump me up. Throw in weekend trips and all the takeout Brighton has to offer… I was expanding just thinking about it. This was shaping up to be Aliza’s highest-emission semester yet.
Or so I thought.
While browsing flights, she noticed a number tucked beneath the price: 860 kg CO2e. Curious, she turned to Google and landed on the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. The result? Her roundtrip between Toronto and London would generate the same emissions as charging nearly 70,000 smartphones.
That was the moment she really saw me—not as some abstract idea, but as a direct consequence of her actions. She realized the semester ahead wasn’t just about adventure; it was a chance to rethink every choice.
First up: the flight. An inevitable carbon spike, but Aliza wasn’t going to let me indulge. She prioritized direct routes and an economy seat. Fewer takeoffs meant less fuel burned, and more passengers meant fewer emissions per person. What she couldn’t reduce, she’d offset by donating to Gold Standard-certified climate action projects. Not a perfect solution, but with London topping the list of cities hit hardest by aviation pollution, even I had to admit—every little step helps.
Next: the weekend trips. Jetting off to Paris and Amsterdam for less than a night out? Tempting. But short-haul flights add up. Multiply that by hundreds of other students with the same idea, and European skies get crowded—and murky—fast. Instead, Aliza turned to Rome2Rio to plan fewer, longer trips, all accessible by public transport. Hello, scenic train rides and city strolls!
And then there’s takeout. Late-night cravings and back-to-back lectures make food delivery dangerously easy near the University of Sussex. In a student hotspot like Brighton, I could practically live off plastic packaging—not to mention the petrol-powered scramble to drop off every order. But Aliza’s got a plan. Armed with a reusable container, cup, and cutlery set, she’ll use Refill to track down restaurants happy to ditch single-use waste. Too busy to leave campus? She’s already downloaded Too Good To Go to rescue leftovers from university eateries before they become landfill fodder.
Between offsetting her flight, swapping planes for trains, and cutting back on takeaway trash, Aliza’s got me cornered. She’s chipping away at sustainable city, responsible consumption and climate action goals bit by bit. I’m still here, I always will be. But at this rate, I’ll need more than just feasting to keep me busy.
References
1. www.bbc.com/future/article/20200218-climate-change-how-to-cut-your-carbon-emissions-when-flying
2. www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/27/london-is-city-most-exposed-to-air-pollution-from-aviation-global-study-finds
3. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8928270/
4. www.sussex.ac.uk/about/campus/food/values
5. https://sdgs.un.org/goals
Resources
1. www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator
2. www.goldstandard.org/why-gold-standard-carbon-credits
3. www.rome2rio.com
4. www.refill.org.uk
5. www.toogoodtogo.com
