this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2026
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Unpopular Opinion

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We have /c/fuckcars but no /c/fuckplanes. Yet a lot of the same arguments apply. They cause air pollution (roughly double the amount per km traveled), noise pollution and they (airports) take up a lot of space near dense living areas. Sure, some places can practically only be visited by plane, just like some places can practically only be visited by car. But people don't consider not having your holiday that far away or giving pushback on a busines trip that should have been an online meeting. Besides work-from-home being encouraged, work-from-home-country should be too.

Cars need to be discouraged in favor of busses, trams and trains. Planes nees to be discouraged in favor of high-speed trains, staycations and hopefully new alternatives like modern sailboats or electric planes.

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[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 13 points 2 days ago (2 children)

You don't know enough about boat building if you think a modern sailboat is a good idea ecologically. Boat building uses nasty chemicals, very harsh solvents and produce ginormous waste. A modern sailboat has a gigantic environmental footprint. I have a 50 year old sailboat (with a modern outboard) but I never try to fool myself into thinking I'm making a recreational choice that's good for the environment. I'm just out enjoying the day and trying not to think about the bottom paint poisoning the lake, the microplastics sloughing off the oxidized gelcoat, and the impact of the fire retardant the textile industry dumps into all the fabric I'm relaxing on, to name a few. Nice way to spend the day though!

[–] thisfro@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 days ago

Isn't the same true for cars, planes, trains and even bicycles?

[–] Robin@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Fair. I'm not a maritime expert. I just get excited about new energy harvesting and propulsion tech.

[–] Peppycito@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Sails are quite good at energy harvesting and propulsion but you won't find any certified organic growers of fibres for sail cloth.

[–] Robin@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

Well the materials matter a bit. But for example wind mill vanes are also made out of horrible, hard to recycle materials. Yet over their lifespan the amount of oil and gas that doesn't have to get burned makes up for it.