Reducing the Environmental Impact of Air Travel

Air travel is a great convenience, but costly to the environment because of high use of fossil fuel, with resulting emissions that damage the atmosphere and contribute to pollution and global climate change. Fortunately, there are ways you can reduce the impact of air travel while still enjoying its benefits.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Step 1

Consider alternatives to air travel. Is there another way to get where you're going that would use less fuel? Travel by bus or train takes longer than flying, but you get the benefit of great scenery and less stressful travel, and both have lower environmental impact than flying. Ride-sharing or carpooling may be a good choice if you're traveling in a group.

Step 2

Minimize the number of flights you take. As expected, the more flights you take and the longer those flights are, the more carbon is spewed into the atmosphere. Consider carefully whether you really need or want to fly. If it's a leisure trip, think about other possible destinations that are closer. If there's no direct flight, try to get a connection without too many short hops.

Step 3

Choose medium length flights over long-distance or commuter flights. Airplanes use fuel most efficiently at higher altitudes, and least efficiently during takeoff, ascent, and landing. Short flights have very limited time at altitude, so efficiency of fuel use is low. Fuel use for long-haul flights is more efficient due to longer time at altitude, but that benefit is offset by the need to carry more fuel, which adds to the plane's weight.

Step 4

Consider the type of aircraft. Different types of planes burn fuel at different rates, and so have higher or lower fuel use per seat. For example, an Airbus A320 has 150 seats and uses 77.4 kg fuel per seat, while a Boeing 747-400 has 416 seats but uses 102.4 kg per seat. Occupancy rates and seating classes also make a difference. A plane that's only half full burns almost as much fuel as one that's packed, and one with fewer total seats (due to larger premium seating areas) is also less efficient.

Step 5

Lighten up. The heavier a plane is, the more fuel it burns in flight. Keep your luggage to what's really needed. Don't forget about yourself---in addition to harming your own health, being overweight or obese adds to fuel use, increasing the impact of air travel. One recent estimate indicates that Americans' extra weight increases aircraft fuel demands by a quarter of a billion dollars each year.

Step 6

Avoid highly congested airports. Air traffic at busy airports is often backed up, requiring planes to circle while waiting for a spot to land--or wait in line for takeoff, engines running. Both waste lots of fuel. In addition, ground traffic near large airports is typically quite heavy and you may find yourself stuck with your engine idling and contributing further to greenhouse gas emissions while you wait to get into the parking garage, or for a spot at the curb to open up.

Step 7

Choose destinations and airlines that are green. Climate Counts scores airlines and hotels on their efforts to reduce their ecological footprint. This could mean using solar or wind power, recycling, reducing waste, reclaiming water, and so on. Also, air travel in hotter climates causes more environmental damage than flights in cooler climes, so think twice about that tropical getaway.

Step 8

Purchase carbon offsets---various types of offsets are available, in which you pay a fee to a company that promises to do something good for the environment. This could mean planting a certain number of trees or investing in alternative energy sources. Make sure the offsets you buy are audited and verified---unfortunately, a lot of companies are trying to capitalize on consumers' concern about the environment by mounting elaborate advertising campaigns without really making significant improvements in their business practices.

Step 9

Don't think buying offsets absolves you from other efforts. It's important to reduce your overall ecological footprint as much as you can. This means being green at home and at work, driving less, and reducing consumption, reusing, and recycling.

Resources

Article Written By Peggy Hansen

Peggy Hansen holds a Bachelor of Science in biology from UC San Diego, Doctor of Medicine from UCLA, and completed postgraduate training at Stanford, Duke and Harvard. An award-winning writer and photographer, her work has been featured in Catnip, Herbalgram, Porter Gulch Review, and many online pieces. She's also a commentator for KQED-FM

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