I meet my sister on a Monday in July. The sun is shining – a rare occurrence for Glasgow. We get coffee in our reusable cups – “two iced lattes with oat milk please” – and sit in the park.
She seems pleased to see me. “You have so much to look forward to.”
She knows I’ve been offered a place to study at summer school in Aarhus. But I’m uncertain.
“I feel torn. This is an amazing opportunity for my academic and personal development. But at the same time, the environmental cost is undeniable and it keeps playing on my mind.”
“I know. Our world is so interconnected that it’s easy to become complacent to the impact of long distance journeys. But you’re not oblivious to that – you’re already self-aware.”
“Is it worth it though? It almost feels selfish, travelling to summer school while the planet burns.”
Her eyes soften and she leans towards me. “Studying abroad is one of the most meaningful and worthwhile forms of travel. It’s directly in line with SDG 4 (Quality Education). You’re setting yourself up to contribute to a better future.”
I pause to think. “That’s a good point. But what about when I get there? The shared house I’m staying in is quite far from campus and I’m not sure how I’ll travel around the city without adding more fumes to the air.”
She grins. “Shared accommodation is a great choice – you’ll be contributing to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by using less space, heat, and electricity per person compared to living by yourself. As for city transport, it’s easy to commute by bike in Aarhus using the Donkey Republic bike-share app! It’s only a 20 minute ride to uni, and you’ll save around 1kg of CO2 per trip compared to taking a car or taxi – that’s SDG 13 (Climate Action) in practice.”
I’m beginning to get excited. “I can contribute to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by taking my reusable water bottle and tote bag to save on single use plastic when I’m out and about, right?”
My sister nods in agreement. “Aarhus has loads of fantastic vegan options too which you can find using the Happy Cow app. Eating a largely plant-based diet which will help to keep the carbon footprint of your food down.”
“I’ll also avoid using GenAI as it uses so much water and electricity. I’ll keep using Ecosia as my search engine instead – they use their profits to plant trees.”
“See? There are ways you can make this trip more sustainable. You shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting to travel the world and embrace these opportunities. You just have to remember you’re a guest in Aarhus – you should aim to leave the city cleaner than you found it.”
I clasp my hands together. “I’m looking forward to it now!”
My sister wraps me in a hug. “I’m proud of you for going.”
References:
https://sdgs.un.org/goals
https://www.donkey.bike/
https://co2.myclimate.org/en/car_calculators/new
https://www.happycow.net
https://www.ecosia.org/
