Author takes to the skies with humourous look at travel
Air travel can make a lot of people excited and just as many people frustrated. Author Steve Burgess casts a humourous eye at both perspectives with his new book, "Reservations: The Pleasures and Perils of Travel."
“Being in an airport you go from pedestrian to Pegasus but in the process you experience a little taste of daily life in a medium security prison,” Burgess told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis in an interview on Friday. “I find myself ashamed of my own behaviour at airports more than I do anywhere else because I end up losing it.”
Burgess takes a long-term view of travel in the book, examining how flights transformed from luxurious but expensive things for a select few to something more accessible.
“Travel has changed and people say it’s changed for the worse, but the other thing is there are so many more people on flights because it’s more affordable,” he said. “Era of mass travel.”
Burgess said travel can often change people’s views of the world, but in the modern age it also comes with new risks and even responsibilities.
“It’s a noble idea, you’re going to go and broaden your perspectives and I believe in it, it’s just that now it’s a lot more complicated because there are issues people didn’t have back then,” he said. “There are massive amounts of emissions and the potential to desecrate these sites that we are supposed to appreciate.”
Burgess said people yearning to explore while also keeping an eye on their carbon footprint should consider looking in their backyards.
“If you really want to be a mindful tourist, the best thing to do is keep your emissions low and stay local,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Hackers release corporate data stolen from London Drugs
Retailer London Drugs says cybercriminals who stole files from its corporate head office last month have released some of the data after it refused to pay a ransom.
Toronto man falls off his chair after seeing $70M Lotto Max win in his bank account
A Toronto man who won $70 million in a recent Lotto Max draw literally fell off his chair when he saw the funds in his bank account.
Montreal-area high school students protest 'sexist' dress code
Approximately 50 Montreal-area students — the vast majority of them female — were suspended Wednesday after their school deemed the shorts they were wearing were too short. On Thursday, several students staged a walk-out to protest what they believe is a "sexist" dress code that unfairly targets girls.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished. It used to be the sort of place where parents let their kids roam free or play in the local creek, but everything has changed.
'I won't stop,' Celine Dion says in trailer for upcoming doc about her health woes
Celine Dion's fans are getting a first glimpse of the superstar's struggle with a rare neurological disorder in an emotional trailer for an upcoming documentary about her career and life.
Tim Meadows pledges not to shave until the Oilers win the cup, who are the team's other famous fans?
An unlikely celebrity emerged from social media to cheer on the Edmonton Oilers as they face the Dallas Stars tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
American Airlines retreats after blaming a 9-year-old for not seeing a hidden camera in a lavatory
American Airlines has distanced itself from a court filing in which the carrier said a nine-year-old girl should have noticed there was a camera taped to the seat of an airplane lavatory.
Luxury beauty brand Clarins to pull out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada
French luxury makeup and skincare brand Clarins is pulling out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada.
'It's over': Minister says B.C.'s decision on Surrey police transition upheld in court
The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in the provincial government's favour on the City of Surrey's legal challenge to its ongoing transition to a municipal police force, according to B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.