Flying visit to Taranaki will be Michael's last

MARK DWYER/Taranaki Daily News

CHALLENGING THE WORLD: Michael Furey has made the call never to fly again nor eat meat as his contribution to curb the ticking timebomb of climate change.

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A young environmentalist based in England says he will never visit his parents in Taranaki again after making a no-flying pledge.

Once Michael Furey, 21, returns today to the United Kingdom he will fly no more.

It's his personal commitment to reducing greenhouse gases which cause climate change.

And he's on a mission to spread the word to people resistant to change.

"Once I say I'm not going to fly, it's not an option any more," the geography undergraduate from the University of Birmingham said.

His parents, Michael and Theresa Furey who live in Opunake, admire and fully support his stance.

"We think it is fantastic to make a decision like that," Mrs Furey said.

Michael Furey travelled by plane to Brisbane last month to attend an international Universitas 21 forum on climate change.

For two weeks, from July 12 to 24, the gathering of 120 students and lecturers, from 14 universities across the globe, discussed climate change .

"Climate change has a much greater severity than any other crisis we may face. And the lifestyle we lead is having an impact.

"I personally think we all have a responsibility to others to do something about it, " Mr Furey said.

This week he spoke to senior students at Auroa School, where his father is principal, and they were astounded to hear about the amount of methane gas passed by cows, he says.

But it was hypocritical to blame farmers, for instance, for damage to the environment. Rather, individuals should be making their own efforts.

A "moral consumer" might cut back on eating meat and dairy products, make choices in the supermarket, cut back on fossil fuel use by carefully choosing the car you drive, and live closer to work, he says.

"At the supermarket decisions should be made on a moral basis on how the food arrived there rather than a decision made on price."

Website on ways to make a difference: studentswitchoff.org.

- © Fairfax NZ News