4 ms·

It does exactly. Thank you. This is 4 times that of a singly occupied car. Probably more effort should go towards car pooling. And maybe electric scooters.

zdragnar 7y ago
That's not outside the range of most hybrids, and even 40 isn't much far off from, say, a kia optima at all freeway miles. Even low efficiency crossover SUV types get at least half, if not better. As the sector transitions to battery over gas, the situation will only continue to improve, as it has been for years. That's not to say that proper incentives for car pooling are bad, but it's also no reason to exclude looking at improving the efficiency of planes- especially since fuel costs are so large a portion of their operating costs.
upofadown 7y ago
That's only a meaningful comparison if you drive across oceans to different continents. People tend to fly much much longer distances than they drive. Supposedly a single long over ocean flight costs something the same as a whole year of driving in terms of carbon emission.
- maccard 7y ago
  > That's only a meaningful comparison if you drive across oceans to different continents. People tend to fly much much longer distances than they drive. Distance isn't everything, many many flights are avoidable/suitable for alternative modes of transport. This [0] estimates that 18% of flights of adults in the UK are "long haul". 40% were either domestic or short haul in Europe, both of which are replacable by trains. The longest domestic flight in the UK is from Gatwick to Inverness, and takes just under 2 hours, or an 8 hour train journey. [0] https://fullfact.org/economy/do-15-people-take-70-flights/ https://fullfact.org/economy/do-15-people-take-70-flights/ - (Note this was just the first source I found)
- magicalhippo 7y ago
  To put it in perspective, I live in Norway, and I live in the city where I work. Driving to and from work each day for a year would be roughly the same distance[1] as a single direct flight to and from New York. Of course an ICE car doesn't get the same milage as that aircraft, but it's just a factor of 2-3 off. And then there's the difference in emissions and between a jet engine with its jet fuel vs the ICE car. For someone like me, even if I was driving to work, that single vacation would be a significant contribution to my travel CO2 footprint. [1]: https://www.airmilescalculator.com/distance/osl-to-jfk/ https://www.airmilescalculator.com/distance/osl-to-jfk/
benhurmarcel 7y ago
> This is 4 times that of a singly occupied car. How do you get that? A normal modern car does 5.5 L/100km (~40 mpg) nowadays.
- bluGill 7y ago
  While cars that get ~40mpg exist, they are not common - at least not in North America. SUVs that get less than 20 are more common than cars that get > 40. That still isn't 4x though. You can find SUVs that get 4x worse, but they are generally heavy duty trucks doing things that cars cannot do. Per useful mass moved they do better than anything else.

zdragnar 7y ago

That's not outside the range of most hybrids, and even 40 isn't much far off from, say, a kia optima at all freeway miles. Even low efficiency crossover SUV types get at least half, if not better. As the sector transitions to battery over gas, the situation will only continue to improve, as it has been for years. That's not to say that proper incentives for car pooling are bad, but it's also no reason to exclude looking at improving the efficiency of planes- especially since fuel costs are so large a portion of their operating costs.

upofadown 7y ago

That's only a meaningful comparison if you drive across oceans to different continents. People tend to fly much much longer distances than they drive. Supposedly a single long over ocean flight costs something the same as a whole year of driving in terms of carbon emission.

maccard 7y ago
> That's only a meaningful comparison if you drive across oceans to different continents. People tend to fly much much longer distances than they drive. Distance isn't everything, many many flights are avoidable/suitable for alternative modes of transport. This [0] estimates that 18% of flights of adults in the UK are "long haul". 40% were either domestic or short haul in Europe, both of which are replacable by trains. The longest domestic flight in the UK is from Gatwick to Inverness, and takes just under 2 hours, or an 8 hour train journey. [0] https://fullfact.org/economy/do-15-people-take-70-flights/ https://fullfact.org/economy/do-15-people-take-70-flights/ - (Note this was just the first source I found)
magicalhippo 7y ago
To put it in perspective, I live in Norway, and I live in the city where I work. Driving to and from work each day for a year would be roughly the same distance[1] as a single direct flight to and from New York. Of course an ICE car doesn't get the same milage as that aircraft, but it's just a factor of 2-3 off. And then there's the difference in emissions and between a jet engine with its jet fuel vs the ICE car. For someone like me, even if I was driving to work, that single vacation would be a significant contribution to my travel CO2 footprint. [1]: https://www.airmilescalculator.com/distance/osl-to-jfk/ https://www.airmilescalculator.com/distance/osl-to-jfk/

benhurmarcel 7y ago

> This is 4 times that of a singly occupied car. How do you get that? A normal modern car does 5.5 L/100km (~40 mpg) nowadays.

bluGill 7y ago
While cars that get ~40mpg exist, they are not common - at least not in North America. SUVs that get less than 20 are more common than cars that get > 40. That still isn't 4x though. You can find SUVs that get 4x worse, but they are generally heavy duty trucks doing things that cars cannot do. Per useful mass moved they do better than anything else.