Last time I flew Delta, the napkin that came with my little cup of coffee proclaimed the airline had been “Carbon neutral since 2020,” which might lead you to believe they are not emitting carbon; there’s a class action lawsuit pending now, which Delta is fighting.
The writer of today’s napkin blurb stayed in safe territory by touting that the napkin is made from recycled paper. Hopefully that much is true.
Flying adds greatly to the carbon footprints of already heavy-footed westerners like me. And yet, with a sprawling family in a sprawling country with little rail service, I choose to fly sometimes.
But I’d rather not comfort myself with greenwashed fantasies of carbon offsets.
As the plane descends below the clouds, I see curving streets and cul de sacs scarring the earth below, labyrinthine, eerily reminiscent of the patterns carved by ash borers, who are born to consume what sustains them.
eeo 