I've stopped flying to conferences for climate change reasons
I work in a role (Developer Relations) that involves a lot of conferences.  Business travel, especially to conferences, has to be one of the biggest wastes of money and resources in corporate America today.<p>People spend thousands to go to a conference and the stated benefit is to hear a few talks that are definitely recorded and to have a handful of useful conversations.<p>Let's be honest: many people at conferences just see them as a way to have the company pay for you to get out of the office and go on a semi-vacation.  I know I've gone to things with that mindset before.<p>Don't get me wrong it's not the events that are the issue, it's how far we travel to them.  I'm sure 90% of the benefit could be had by going to local meetups and watching the big conferences online.