Is air travel destroying the air?
According to statistics from multiple groups, aviation
accounts for 3 percent overall of global carbon emissions, combine that with
another frightening stat that air travel is growing rapidly in popularity to
the tune of about 5 percent per year. With a bit of maths, that means miles
flown by air passengers will more than triple by 2030, and aircraft numbers
will double in as little as ten years.
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Scary looking stuff for planet Earth.
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So what can we do? Well many very clever men including the
environmental advisor to President Bush believe that the answer can be found in
technology. The reason why environmental impact of planes in particular is
somewhat frightening is that they do not just give off carbon dioxide, but also
nitrous oxide which could have up to double the impact of the former greenhouse
gas. All of which contributes to global warming.
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It is silly to think that in the international outlook of
today that people will ever stop flying or traveling, so we must look at what
can be created with the least environmental impact. In meantime however, the
planet savvy traveler should plan vacations accordingly. If you are flying over
seas, try to make one long trip a year, instead of multiple short ones, and if
you can skip the plane altogether and take perhaps a train instead it would
also be one small step to helping the planet even though it may take a little
longer. But think of all the reading you could get done!�