Another perspective on travelling

Would you be willing to take the train or carpool to the Enchanted Circle retreat?

Ideally we would like structures, not individuals, to be the actors of such an ambition, but we believe very strongly in the power of individual action to create the corld we want to live in. The Enchanted Circle, in its small way, is committed to contributing to these bottom-up actions.

Our request to come to the retreat by train or carpool (i.e. without flying and avoiding the private car) stems directly from this commitment.

We are aware that such a request is restrictive. It implies for some more organisation. More time. More money (but not always). And on its own, this request will not change the world order. But it can contribute to it, and for us, that’s all that matters.

This request is not an obligation. No checks will be made to ensure that you’ve actually taken the train or carpooled. This request is an invitation. If you have come to the point of reading these lines, it is because the Enchanted Circle initiative speaks to you and that you connect with the life force that animates it. To respond positively to this invitation is to take care of this life force. Knowing that you are taking the train or carpooling helps us to continue to fuel the fire that inspires The Enchanted Circle.

For those who are coming from overseas: You may not have the choice of flying, but how would it be for you to stay put – we mean on land – for a few weeks before heading off to your far-flung lands rather than flying back and forth for the time of the retreat? We do not reject air travel, but given the current need to reduce our carbon emissions, we believe that reducing air travel could help. By staying on land for a few weeks before flying again, we recreate the habit of taking our time when travelling far away and thus reduce the number of flights per year.

For those who will follow this dynamic, a carpooling table will be available in the confirmation email of your registration to allow you to find your travel companions more easily.

With enchantment,

The Enchanted Circle

If you wish to make a step forward in your approach to individual responsibility and climate change, we heartily recommend that you read the following articles and books:

• Broome (2012). Climate matters: Ethics in a warming world (Norton global ethics series). WW Norton & Company
• Hiller (2011). “Climate Change and Individual Responsibility”, The Monist, Vol. 94, No. 3, Morality and Climate Change, p. 349-368
• Nolt (2011). “How harmful are the average American’s greenhouse gas emissions?”. Ethics, Policy and Environment, 14(1), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21550085.2011.561584
• Parncutt (2019). “The Human Cost of Anthropogenic Global Warming: Semi-Quantitative Prediction and the 1,000-Tonne Rule”, Front. Psychol., 2019,https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02323
• Parfit (1984.) Reasons and Persons, Oxford University Press
• Sinnot-Armstrong (2005), “It’s Not My Fault: Global Warming and Individual Moral Obligations”, in Perspectives on Climate Change: Science, Economics, Politics, Ethics Advances in the Economics of Environmental Research, vol.5, p. 293–315
• Vanderheiden (2008). Atmospheric Justice: A Political Theory of Climate Change, Oxford University Press