Travel by Mouse Instead of Jet?

A topic that has recently caught my interest is the global climate campaign. CNN has even called it “the most widespread political activity in the planet’s history.” (McKibben 1) I have been interested in how our world is maximizing productivity in lieu of the seemingly infinite technological advances.

In the article titled “Travel by Mouse Instead of Jet?” Bill McKibben investigates what is gained and lost by using software such as Skype and other videoconference programs.

Here is how McKibben describes his new methods:

“In recent years I've learned to tell an increasing number of the people who ask me to speak (about ten a day, most days) that the only way I can "be" there is via Skype video. I sit in my kitchen, turn on my Macbook Pro, line up the camera, and when the moment comes I talk. In this way I am able to say "Yes." to speaking to a multiple of the people I could speak to if our only option was being physically present. And the good news is that the technology is improving all the time. I've already had one venue send out a special camera that allowed me to appear as a three-dimensional hologram!”

One of the main gains of this strategy is to cut costs, and in turn cut back on pollution given off by jets. You can do one thousand Google searches for the energy it takes a plane to drive six tenths of a mile (McKibben 3).

Many have taken this approach, and the only downside McKibben can note is that occasionally some feedback is lost in translation, or the Internet so to speak. Other than that, costs are cut and time is gained, and as technology advances it will only become more and more efficient to do work via remote workstations.

I feel as if McKibben and his coworkers are setting a solid foundation in cutting back not only on travel costs but also on global air pollution. It is brainless if you are a traveling speaker to not start off by making one or two of your conferences a month done over a video stream. In a way, it exemplifies evolution, as things are constantly changing and people not only have to keep up with the world itself but also the technology that comes with it. The world stops for nothing. Except until it freezes over and we all die.