[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/EW-04-23-13-Air-Travel-Carbon.mp3|titles=EW 04-23-13 Air Travel & Carbon]
The average American’s day-to-day activities generate about 19 tons of carbon dioxide a year—though some of us generate far more than this. This quantity is called our carbon footprint.
Typically, the largest contributions come from driving our cars, heating and lighting our homes, producing and transporting our food, and consuming other goods and services. However, this list often omits contributions from air travel, which can be substantial.
Online carbon footprint calculators show how our own carbon consumption stacks up. If air travel is in the mix, the results can be very surprising. With just a few long flights a year, air travel can be one of the largest contributors. Why is this?
Are planes large carbon emitters? They are in absolute terms. But actually not in terms of the amount of carbon produced by transporting a person a given distance. Jet fuel and gasoline create about the same amount of carbon dioxide per gallon. The FAA estimates that the fuel efficiency of a typical plane works out to 48 miles-per-gallon per passenger seat. Not a terrible number.
The reason air travel generates so much carbon is that we travel so far. A few cross-country or international trips add up to far more miles than most of us put on our cars each year. So the real carbon penalty for air travel is associated with its use to travel long distances. Buses and trains, if well occupied, generate far less carbon per passenger when going a long way. If we have that choice, it is well worth thinking about.
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Web Links
Air Travel – Office of Sustainability
http://sustainability.tufts.edu/air-travel/
Photo, taken on July 26, 2011, courtesy of Kuster and Wildhaber Photography via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY, with partial support from the Field Day Foundation.