Flying in economy on a superjumbo isn't that bad. I haven't seen any really good articles about the carbon footprint of foreign travel, but remember, most Amer

Flying in economy on a superjumbo isn't that bad. I haven't seen any really good articles about the carbon footprint of foreign travel, but remember, most Americans drive 3-5000lb cars around every day just for 1 person to go to McDonald's or work, sometimes with very long commutes. For vacations, most Americans probably drive, frequently very long distances. With airplanes, a lot of the fuel is actually burned in takeoff, so intercontinental flights with large planes are significantly more efficient (in passenger-miles-per-gallon) than shorter (regional) trips. And finally, most people don't get that much time for vacations, so they only take such trips once or maybe twice per year. So yes, travel is high-carbon, but compare that to the everyday lifestyle most middle-class and up Americans live every day at home.