Are there aspects of your daily life that you know contribute to your carbon footprint but you are unwilling to compromise to change them? In other words, what about your life is “off the table” when it comes to carbon emissions? It's OK to admit it- we all have these cherished behaviors!
Off the Table? >
Travel
I really would not want to give up travelling. Unfortunately, this does seem like my biggest personal contributor. According to a study by Timetric, the United States travels the second most but all the countries that surround it have liberal climate policies and are doing things to reduce their carbon emissions. I do know that new methods of more fuel-efficient travel are being researched but I think that this issue is one that calls for sacrifice. There are economic advantages for more fuel efficient planes, and hopefully this is intensive for the large airplane builders who could make this happen, but that doesn't seem like enough and I'm not sure if there is any real solution besides avoiding traveling on emissions. Additionally, it doesn't seem like battery power is advanced enough but maybe bio fuels could help. Despite this, I'm not sure if biofuel is profitable with, especially with the oil wars between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Even if the oil war would end, the prices would still be very low and low oil prices means green tech becomes unprofitable.
https://www.traveller.com.au/the-worlds … ips-11979j
https://www.globaldata.com/industries-w … d-tourism/
https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/biofuels-basics
I agree in that traveling takes up a huge amount of my carbon footprint. I believe that it is difficult to cut out what seems to so many people as a "necessary" event. According to Yahoo, in recent times, many airlines have taken a large hit. We can infer with relative confidence that this is because of the recent outbreak of coronavirus and peoples fears about contracting it. All over the world, people are canceling their flights. However, despite this, is the carbon outtake of airlines shrinking? One would infer yes, however the people on the plane aren't the source of carbon dioxide. The planes still fly if some people cancel. And the carbon released into the atmosphere remains constant, despite the fewer amount of flyers. So while on the surface, limiting your travel seems like a good way to limit your carbon footprint, it may not be the best solution. A more logical solution might be to make fuel more efficient, or limit the amount of flights an airline can take.
I agree in that traveling takes up a huge amount of my carbon footprint. I believe that it is difficult to cut out what seems to so many people as a "necessary" event. According to Yahoo, in recent times, many airlines have taken a large hit. We can infer with relative confidence that this is because of the recent outbreak of coronavirus and peoples fears about contracting it. All over the world, people are canceling their flights. However, despite this, is the carbon outtake of airlines shrinking? One would infer yes, however the people on the plane aren't the source of carbon dioxide. The planes still fly if some people cancel. And the carbon released into the atmosphere remains constant, despite the fewer amount of flyers. So while on the surface, limiting your travel seems like a good way to limit your carbon footprint, it may not be the best solution. A more logical solution might be to make fuel more efficient, or limit the amount of flights an airline can take.
I agree with both you, travel was also a big part of my carbon footprint. Last year from carbon footprint 11,300 kgs of carbon was burned from me alone. Planes produce so much pollution before they even fly. First, they have to built in the factories and as we know factories burn fossil fuels a year. Planes have greatly effected humans economically for many years and it still is. We rely on travel for many things but I feel like we really need to cut down on travel on plane if we can. Per one air mile planes pollute 53 pounds of different carbons that are harmful to the environment into the air. Now just imagine if you are taking a flight from Oakland to London, so much carbon would be polluted into the air. Because of the Coronavirus, fewer planes are being flown right now but fossil fuels are still being polluted by cars, motorcycles, and trucks. Cars are the biggest contributors to fossil fuels burned in America. The lifestyle that we live in America does rely on planes and cars for transportation but I do think that we could be less selfish and give up some trips to help save the environment.