https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/08/time-to-end-cheap-flights/

 

Edited August 28, 20187 yr by WingZ

That article appears to contain the typical undercurrent of let's bash the elite for 'jetting-off' to somewhere exotic and an attempt to guilt trip the masses for not being aligned with the author's pre-conceived views.

Evidence states that aviation is damaging to the environment. However, the suggestion that maritime transport is better for the environment in the concluding paragraph is patently false. Greenhouse gas ('GHG') emissions, when comparing the two modes of transport for tourism, are described as follows:
"[...] air transport accounts for the largest share of tourism-related GHG emissions, while cruises remain the most GHG emissions-intense mode of transport per kilometre travelled." [Source: Aviation and shipping in the spotlight]
This is evidenced by the 2017 number of passengers who take flights over the number who go on cruises.
3.979 billion passenger journeys for aviation and 23.96 million (estimated) passengers for cruises.

Additionally, the aviation sector contributes only a small percentage to worldwide CO2 figures. A breakdown of energy use by fossil fuel consumption gives a clear picture of where reductions in man-made emissions ought to first be targeted.

• Power and heat   42%
• Manufacturing      19%
• Road transport     17%
• Other transport     6%
  (incl. aviation)
  [Source: Table 2.3 - 2016 trends in global co2 emissions]

Bigger aircraft, higher load factors and ever more fuel efficient aeroplanes are part of the answer.  Mid- to long-term requires aviation to develop a new, less damaging fuel.

That said, the 'easier wins' come from both less polluting power generation and road vehicles.

I guess we should all travel by slow boat to wherever...

The fact is, whatever the countries of the world do  right now to try to reverse or slow climate change, the tipping point was probably reached in the 1960's: drastic measures for reversal were needed back then... Alas, the large industrial countries such as the U.S., China and India,etc. still continue to spill out enormous levels of CO2 gases every day. It's the economy, stupid!  No incentive to slow the pace... 

When I was a kid in the 1950's, the Earth's population was about 3 billion - now it's over 7 billion and growing:  No way of reversing that trend.  More people, naturally much greater CO2 emissions.

Back to when I was a kid, there was the famous sci fi movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still"  (recently re-made with Keanu).  Reality is, if all human activity completely stopped tomorrow, some scientists have estimated it would take 40 to 50 years to reduce green house gases in the atmosphere to 1950 levels.  Nice fantasy though.

 

 

  

The writer of the Wall Street Journal article emailed me the link to her article when I requested it after my interview, since I was not a subscriber.  It was very gracious of her.  I thought it was a well balanced article though I did not recognize any of the simmers names from here that she quoted in the article, she took my testimony after the article was written in case their is a followup, I really appreciated her thoroughness and time.  I quit learning to fly because of the expense, and because I felt light sport aircraft were less safe which statistics have proven thus far.  I love my sim time, having flown a real general aviation aircraft and trikes, I can set up my weather and turbulence to make flight, especially landings, much more realistic and more of the challenge that they are in real life, though I wish I had rudder pedals instead of a twist grip controller, but my cat would eat the cord and thus become a former cat, which I do not want, she is my buddy and sim partner, lol.  I love the way she cocks her head when I bank and turn in the simulator, she sits right next to me and takes in the flight and when I do not sim she will go to my computer chair and sit in it until I come over and fire up the sim, which I might do for an hour or two every day or every other day, given my other computer hobbies.

I got my fix of real world flying when I flew to London non-stop from Phoenix last year and back, it will hold me for another year until I get the itch to fly somewhere again.  I want to take another dual trike flight if I can get off of my laziness and down to the trike airports well south of Phoenix.  Leroy Arizona is the best, owned by trike pilot Phil Leroy (http://allabouttrikes.com/get_instructor.php?instructor_id=1298)

John

8 hours ago, overspeed3 said:

Back to when I was a kid, there was the famous sci fi movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still"  (recently re-made with Keanu).  Reality is, if all human activity completely stopped tomorrow, some scientists have estimated it would take 40 to 50 years to reduce green house gases in the atmosphere to 1950 levels.  Nice fantasy though. 

I wont get into jet emissions ..I like the smell of jet fuel, but we had a day here in the S.F. Bay Area where the skies stood still - 9/11. That was surreal.

26 minutes ago, FunknNasty said:

I wont get into jet emissions ..I like the smell of jet fuel, but we had a day here in the S.F. Bay Area where the skies stood still - 9/11. That was surreal.

Greenhouse gasses may come to help us someday if we have a horrific volcanic eruption out of Yellowstone again, which is a ticking time bomb.  The planet has a way of making a "major correction" when it feels too warm, either that or even a small nuclear war between India and Pakistan would send us to freezing temps.  I often wonder how jet travel impacts greenhouse gasses, what is a greater contributor, jet or ground based greenhouse gas emitters?

John

9 hours ago, Cactus521 said:

The planet has a way of making a "major correction" when it feels too warm

This is true. The likelihood is that the planet can adapt and “survive” in the long run. Humans? Not so much.

James

5 hours ago, honanhal said:

This is true. The likelihood is that the planet can adapt and “survive” in the long run. Humans? Not so much.

James

One promising new development in the fight against greenhouse gasses are artificial leaves that could be used to cover buildings in heat islands, like Phoenix where I live.  Before Phoenix grew into a metro area of 4 million people it was about ten degrees cooler on average in the summer.  At least now we are drying out from the summer monsoons, which hit us and Sky Harbor airport big this year, above the 30 year average.  We went one week with six days straight of rain, a record.  As jets grow more efficient and engines get replaced, their contribution to greenhouse gasses will go down.  But every piston prop plane I ever flew in, with the exception of one, smelled strongly of gas inside, from the 182 on down to two seat prop aircraft.  Cars do not smell that way, I often wonder why prop planes do.  The one that did not smell strongly was a Rans S6 I flew over Hemet California once with a friend.  It had a Rotax 982 and could climb well, and I was 40 pounds heavier then.  I flew it up to 9000 feet then let my friend, a CFI and aircraft mechanic, fly us in to another small town where we had breakfast together.  It was my last fixed wing prop flight, before I turned to trikes.

John