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per passenger-mile, flying is much less polluting than driving a car, even after you account for the fact that pollution in the stratosphere is more damaging.

per passenger-mile, flying is much less polluting than driving a car, even after you account for the fact that pollution in the stratosphere is more damaging. If getting rid of air travel results in more people driving across the country, that makes the greenhouse worse. In terms of absolute consumption, yes it would be great if people stopped spending so much on things that are damaging the environment... but it would be FAR better to instead spend money on renewable energy and electric cars, which are by far the most effective ways to reduce CO2.

Kiro 6y ago
Domestic flights are obviously the worst kind of flights. I see no reason for them to exist at all when we have trains. Yes, I think everyone should stop driving as well. I agree about the renewable energy but we need to take action on both fronts.
pengaru 6y ago
> per passenger-mile, flying is much less polluting than driving a car, even after you account for the fact that pollution in the stratosphere is more damaging. If getting rid of air travel results in more people driving across the country, that makes the greenhouse worse. Flying enables burning more fuel to go farther in the same amount of time. Your comparison is simply bogus and structured to favor flying. In a world without flying, those travel miles don't get replaced by automobile miles. They simply don't occur for the most part. For such comparisons you should really hold the travel time constant, not the distance.
pacifist 6y ago
This infographic disagrees on the cars vs planes: https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_39/2168831/170926-fig1full-ac-416ap_935dc9cfc68ad2d79320499127779c76.fit-560w.jpg https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_39/2168831/17092... It's from this article: https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/best-lifestyle-choice-saving-planet-just-might-surprise-you-ncna804936 https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/best-lifestyle-choice-s... TLDR: One transatlantic flight is just under giving up driving altogether.
- dredmorbius 6y ago
  Infographic for much larger ants, if you prefer (via TinEye): http://www.kimnicholas.com/uploads/2/5/7/6/25766487/fig1full.jpg http://www.kimnicholas.com/uploads/2/5/7/6/25766487/fig1full...

Kiro 6y ago

Domestic flights are obviously the worst kind of flights. I see no reason for them to exist at all when we have trains. Yes, I think everyone should stop driving as well. I agree about the renewable energy but we need to take action on both fronts.

pengaru 6y ago

> per passenger-mile, flying is much less polluting than driving a car, even after you account for the fact that pollution in the stratosphere is more damaging. If getting rid of air travel results in more people driving across the country, that makes the greenhouse worse. Flying enables burning more fuel to go farther in the same amount of time. Your comparison is simply bogus and structured to favor flying. In a world without flying, those travel miles don't get replaced by automobile miles. They simply don't occur for the most part. For such comparisons you should really hold the travel time constant, not the distance.

pacifist 6y ago

This infographic disagrees on the cars vs planes: https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_39/2168831/170926-fig1full-ac-416ap_935dc9cfc68ad2d79320499127779c76.fit-560w.jpg https://media2.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_39/2168831/17092... It's from this article: https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/best-lifestyle-choice-saving-planet-just-might-surprise-you-ncna804936 https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/best-lifestyle-choice-s... TLDR: One transatlantic flight is just under giving up driving altogether.

dredmorbius 6y ago
Infographic for much larger ants, if you prefer (via TinEye): http://www.kimnicholas.com/uploads/2/5/7/6/25766487/fig1full.jpg http://www.kimnicholas.com/uploads/2/5/7/6/25766487/fig1full...