Travel Less. Make It Worthwhile

Abstract

Academic travel has a substantial carbon footprint. The ongoing pandemic has propelled the development and adoption of technologies for online delivery of seminars and remote attendance at scientific conferences. This should not lead to the complete elimination of in-person events, but the scientific community must seize the opportunity to permanently change its modus operandi and reduce the impact of its activities on the environment.

Figure 1

Acapella Singing Competition Has Conference Participants Bond Outside of the Lecture Hall In 2018, I organized the 9^th International Plant Biomechanics Conference in Montreal, Canada. In line with a long-standing tradition, the conference banquet offered the opportunity for ad hoc teams to present favorite national tunes. Practicing the harmonies of the German classic “Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus” led to the co-authoring of an editorial between colleagues Thomas Speck (center, University of Freiburg), Karl Niklas (not pictured, Cornell University), and myself (not pictured) (Geitmann et al., 2019).