It was very gratifying to return from holiday to find a copy of The Professional Mountaineer on my doormat. I was heartened by the article about climate change and further cheered up by a similar article in Walk, the magazine of the Ramblers Association. Climate change is something close to my heart, and I have been trying to nudge the Association of Mountaineering Instructors along in the hope that we can all do a little bit better. I encourage people to attend my workshops in pairs so they get two for the price of one journey. I also support those who arrive by public transport and always encourage car sharing where public transport is a challenge.
Unfortunately, I have to inform you that we are alone in this effort. I've just travelled back from a lovely holiday in New Zealand, and the state of the world beyond my little echo chamber is not good. You could call it a mistake to look at the news, or a mistake to click on the comments under encouraging rewilding articles in the daily press. This was the first time my wife and I had flown in 10 years. It was a full aeroplane, and while we felt justified in making the journey to visit a family member, we won't be doing it again. Long-distance travel is neither of our cups of tea.
New Zealand is a lovely place with fantastic people, wonderful native forests, interesting birds, and fascinating geological features such as bubbling, steaming ponds—all available in easily accessible locations. However, access in New Zealand depends on the motor car. The country has no effective public transport. We tried to plan part of our trip using public transport but were thwarted, and hiring a car was the only way to move around. The journeys are long, and with a population lower than Scotland’s, the roads are not in terribly good order. They are certainly not built to the same standard as those in the UK—and why would they be, with so little traffic? It seems that many Kiwis tend to fly from town to town, given the size of the country. You can see how this has developed into being the most efficient way to travel.
While the Department of Conservation is making fantastic strides in removing invasive species from the wilder parts of New Zealand, and many Kiwis are trying to live more sustainably—illustrated by the wonderful farmers' markets we visited—the majority of people, as in most of the Western world, continue to rely on aeroplanes, massive pickup trucks, whilst enjoying motorised hobbies. Speedboats, quad bikes, and off-roading are popular activities. In many ways, life in New Zealand is far more akin to that in America than in the UK.
We broke our journey in Dubai, a grotesque and unsustainable city built in the desert. Goodness knows where the water comes from, where the food comes from—everything is imported, everything relies on air travel, and the whole city is built around motor cars and air conditioning. As an urban geographer, it's a fascinating place; as an environmentalist, it's a real blot on the landscape.
Then there is news from America, where environmental causes are now strongly on the back foot, with even the banning of paper straws illustrating the current administration's attitude to the environment. Returning home, social media is awash with climate change deniers, fuelled by channels like GB News, the Reform UK party, and ignorant missives from Washington, D.C.
I don’t think this should stop us as individuals from trying to do our best—morally and courageously—but without some sort of people’s revolution, it is difficult to see how the tide can be turned given the current trends. How are you feeling about the current challenges we are facing?
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