Disclaimer: This text reflects only the opinion of its author and does not in any way commit the official word of the French Air and Space Academy.
By Alain Joselzon, Full Member.
Les réflexions qui suivent ont été inspirées à son auteur par le récent colloque international organisé par l’Académie de l’Air et de l’Espace les 11 et 12 mars 2021[1], en relation avec divers exposés et échanges, notamment autour des notions, appliquées à l’aviation, de budget carbone, de critères distance-temps pour comparer les émissions entre modes de transport, de son caractère de moyen de transport jugé insuffisamment accessible par certains et plus généralement concernant le rôle de l’aviation.
I was struck by the phrase “Travel: in our DNA”, which scrolled across the screen during video interludes: so simple, condensed and yet so rich in meaning.
When we go back in time to geological eras, living species began to develop, first in the marine environment, then amphibious, reptilian, and, probably descended from a branch of dinosaurs in the Jurassic, prehistoric birds flew away, long before the appearance of the first hominids. I will leave it to paleontologists, Darwinists and anthropologists to explain how the evolution of species gradually transformed the physical characteristics between the first fish, dinosaurs, prehistoric birds, to arrive at the higher mammals and humans of today, by very long and non-linear paths. The fact is that our DNA must keep some traces of distant ancestors who moved in the water, on land and in the air! Travelling is therefore literally part of our DNA….
[1] International Webinar: “Air Transport in Crisis and Climate Challenge – Towards New Paradigms”