Monday, August 02, 2010

MESSING WITH THE SKY, MESSING WITH THE EARTH

 The aviation industry, along with the shipping industry, has been one of the most recalcitrant industry sectors in addressing global warming. This denial of culpability flies in the face of the fact that one round trip from NY to LA or Trans Atlantic round trip is equal to 2,000 pounds of CO2; in a year air travel releases 600 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As air traffic emissions double — or even triple — by 2050, a recent study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology indicates that air travel will become one of the significant factors in global warming.

Now it's no doubt true that we could all cut down on our air travel one way or another. The biggest villains here are not you and me flying off somewhere to visit aunt Ruth. No, we should look at corporate America.

The airline industry has a responsibility to, for example, to increase the rate of technological development and uptake for fuel efficiency measures as well as well as look at alternative fuels. The business world has numerous ways to cut down on business travel and they need to do it now, not tomorrow, but now. Most business travel is really a communications issue anyway and does not require person to person real life contact.


The following is from rabble.


Up in the air, destroying the planet

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