Flying has always been on the top of the list of harmful things we do to the planet: No food restrictions, vegan life style or similar measures have effects that are even getting close to the potential impact that refraining from flying can have. Here’s the math.
As a typical European, you and me are causing about 10 tons of Co2 per year. Our Indian or African friends are at a rate of 1 ton per year, as an average maximum – not taking into consideration the back pack of 200 years of industrialization we Westerners carry. We should reduce several tons, every one of us, no matter what others do.
Tackling the big problems first
To achieve that, the three largest blocks of Co2 output need to be tackled – in everyone’s life, maybe through regulation. Even though I am very skeptical about the most controversial item on that TOP three list (having children), the other two are easy to tackle: Airplane travel and consumption.
To put it frankly: A child equals > 3 tons of Co2 a year, similar to a mid-distance flight. Many people still want children, but everyone can do without the flight. What’s needed is a change of mind set: If you fly around the globe frequently or buy a new SUV every five years, your food and driving habits won’t matter anymore, same applies if you build a standard house today.
Children or not?
If you’re into the children or not discussion and firm in German language, then listen to this podcast with Claudia Kemfert. Close to the end (at about 35 minutes) she explains her feelings about the question “climate catastrophe – do we need more or less children?” and her emotions when she sees young humans. I feel totally the same – life is going to be very tough on the little ones in one or two decades.
But one thing’s for sure: If you do one, two or more long-distance flights a year, there’s no way that your personal life style will become “clean” and reasonable again. Not for a long time, not without huge cost.
A gallon per second, uncleaned into upper atmosphere
If you need more arguments to convince people of that sentence above, here’s a good answer to a Quora question: “How much fuel does a Boeing 747 burn per second?” – It’s one gallon (4 liters) per second. Per second.
Mind that the problem is not only the efficiency, but that the 240 Liters per minute, ~14.400 Liters (3 to 5000 gallons) per hour are being burnt and ejected in the most vulnerable part of the atmosphere, and emitted vastly uncleaned – no comparison to modern fuel combustion engines. Nevertheless: A 747 burns 1500 to 2000 Liters per 100 km, roughly 4-5 Liters per passenger (if fully seated), which is up to 2-3 times that of a modern car, but mostly without any exhaust cleaning directly into the stratosphere. No waste separation or vegan life style can compensate that.