From the essay, something I hadn’t considered: We have significant impact on ecosystems; planting thirsty trees has downstream effects.

It is better to fly less distance and/or fewer times (I’ve given up flying except maybe for one funeral). Maybe keep and expand study-abroad experiences for late teens / early twenties, for context reference during subsequent learning, and limit the rest?

Yes, the downstream effects is something that is not usually mentioned anywhere in mainstream media.