It is a modern marvel to be able to fly, but are we ready to pay the full price?

In this episode, Maria, a PhD student, goes through a roller-coaster of emotions as her sustainable choices of travel to a conference are hindered by rigid university policies. She chances upon an app that provides emission analysis and sustainable solutions in academic life.

Will she find the courage to convince scientists and experts of the novel ways to reduce air travel among researchers? Will she manage to drive home her point at the risk of being marginalised by the academic society at large?

This episode highlights the plight of a lot of eco-conscious academics who are discouraged from using more sustainable modes of transport due to short-sighted policies within academic institutions. It sheds light on initiatives like ExPlane, which is tackling this issue with a multidisciplinary approach.

Does your university practice what they preach? Do you want to address the problem of unnecessary air travel at your university? Check out the campaign toolkit at ExPlane (timetoexplane.com) that can help you raise awareness on the climate impact of flying and change your university’s travel policy. ExPlane aims to eliminate unnecessary travel and ensure that all decisions to travel by air are made consciously and with full awareness of the environmental impacts. It does this by asking universities to adopt fair and sustainable travel policies.

CREDITS:

• Written by Kelsey Danks
• Sound and direction by Thiviya Nair
• Production by Thomas Riedinger
• Research by ExPlane and Claudia Moreno Meneses
• Album art by Marie Plesse
• Copywriting by Soham Datta
• Partnerships by Simona Jastremskaite

CAST:

• Marta da Silva as Maria
• Sarah Golding as Esther
• Ruthanna Reardon as Scrybe App and Narrator
• Luis Alberto Martin as Speaker 1
• Aleksander Stepanovic as Speaker 2
• Amy Zhang representing ExPlane
• Kim von de Heide representing ExPlane

No Place Green Enough is created by a team of scientists and artists collaborating to bring you interesting stories from across the globe. We are supported by ESAA, EIT Climate-KIC and 350.org. Follow us on Twitter @NPGEpodcast, LinkedIn and Instagram at No Place Green Enough. Drop us an email with your feedback and ideas at info@noplacegreenenough.com.

Attribution Licenses:

• Sound effects from freesound.org, zapsplat.com, orangefreesounds.com.
• Music from freemusicarchive.org, orangefreesounds.com, zapsplat.com and motionarray.com.
• Dawnage by Ketsa
• Ephemera by Scott Buckley
• Oh Radiant One by Siddhartha Corsus
• Snowfall by Scott Buckley

#storytelling #academia #flights #unnecessary #unsustainable #carbonemissions #sustainablesolution #systemicchange #podcast #sciencecommunication #fiction #academia #researchers #university #policies #sustainabletravel #digitalisation