V 13 N. 12 English Runner Declines Opportunity to Compete in World XC Under 20's Due to Climate Crisis

 Jan 27, 2023

                                                                    Innes Fitzgerald                                                                                                                                    image from The Daily Mail

Innes Fitzgerald, a 16-year old English cross country runner has declined to travel to Australia to compete in the World Under 20's Cross Country Championships because of her belief that air travel is one of the chief contributors to climate change.  

Her story appeared in today's The Guardian by Kevin Rawlinson.   Here is the link:  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/26/runner-gb-australia-climate-innes-fitzgerald-cross-country

Initially I was struck by the thought that "How could anyone pass up a free trip like that to compete with the best in the world/".  Also realizing how much time and energy had been put into being eligible for such an opportunity, it would be very difficult to set aside.   I could not imagine myself as a sixteen-year-old rejecting such an opportunity.  But knowing my four granddaughters as I do, I think I can more easily understand.  Their generation is much more attuned to climate threats and they know that they are the ones who will be spending the rest of their lives dealing with the problem.  Growing up, our problems were the Cold War, finding a decent pair of running shoes, buying beer with a fake draft card, and deciding where to attend college.  Rachel Carson's The Silent Spring was not high on my list of books to be read.  

You and I know that plane to Australia will still fly, still pollute, still put CO2 into the air, but when more and more folks start standing with Innes the airlines will have to squeeze a few more seats into each plane that does fly so that their profits do not diminish.  And eventually there may be fewer planes in the air because folks will curtail needless travel.  

So today I will stand with and applaud Innes and her generation for what they believe.    George Brose

Dear George:

When you post this article and your congratulations to Innes, please add mine.

Plus my apologies on behalf of our generation for leaving these young women and men with the problems we have.

Take care,

Tom Coyne

Mike Waters	2:17 PM (23 minutes ago)
to me

Well good for her.   Has this gotten national attention?    It's good to see a young person with this belief    Mike