Planes, trains and container ships

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Dr Johnson travels by train, bicycle and container ship

By Brady Haran
BBC News

You may think scientists have a greater interest in protecting nature than most people.

So should they be jetsetting the globe to attend meetings and conferences?

Dr Johnson took his bicycle on the ship

Or should they follow the example of Andrew Johnson, from the University of Derby, who shuns air travel and attends conferences by trains, bicycles and container ships?

Dr Johnson - a geologist who studies sea shells to monitor climate change - says he was put off air travel after witnessing damage to Greenland's ice sheet.

In a recent example of his zeal, he attended a conference in the United States by paying to travel on a container ship.

While a ship may not be the greenest form of passenger transport, Dr Johnson chose it because the ship was making the journey anyway and his presence did not have a significant impact on its fuel use.

Typical geologist

He said: "It was actually an incredible experience to realise just how vast the Atlantic Ocean is."

A typical geologist, Dr Johnson calculated that every second on the ship saw him cover a section of ocean crust that took 200 years to create.

"And it takes eight days worth of those 'one seconds' to cross the Atlantic: So that gives you some insight into the immensity of geological time," he said.

Dr Johnson insisted the eight-day voyage was not dull and he used the time to work on his laptop computer.

The ship towers over Dr Johnson's bicycle

The scientist is also a rail advocate, attending another conference in China travelling only by train.

That meant a series of connections from Derby to Nanjing, travelling on the Midland Mainline, Eurostar and the Trans-Siberian railway.

So what does Dr Johnson think of so many scientists flying around the world to attend conferences?

He said: "I know some of my colleagues are uneasy about what I'm doing because they are aware of the fact that they are doing quite a few air miles to attend conferences throughout the year.

"I think you have to weigh up (air travel) against the benefit derived.

"It is unquestionably the case that there is an immense stimulation and exchange of information that goes on at these international conferences."

But Dr Johnson insists he will be sticking to bicycles, trains and the odd container ship to seek that intellectual stimulation.