Aaron Cohen

Plane Polution

Tuesday Dec 19, 2006

Airplanes continue to come under fire for being anything but eco-responsible, perhaps spurred by this new report.

The U.S. airline industry discards enough aluminum cans each year to build 58 Boeing 747 airplanes, along with thousands of tons o plastics, magazines and newspapers. All of this waste represents unrealized potential for airlines and airports to save money, reduce global warming pollution and improve efficiency. -- NRDC via Makower blog

My sister just sent me an SMS that USA Today this morning that has a big story about jet polution. And Joel Makower has a related story.

source: NRDC via Joel Makower blog.

From USA Today:

The FAA projects that the number of U.S. airline passengers will nearly double from 739 million last year to 1.4 billion in 2025
On a New York-to-Denver flight, a commercial jet would generate 840 to 1,660 pounds of carbon dioxide per passenger. That's about what an SUV generates in a month.
Aircraft emissions pollute the air and threaten by 2050 to become one of the largest contributors to global warming, British scientists have concluded.

PHOTO SOURCE: USA TODAY
My two cents: Sun employees do fly to meetings if we have shown ample justification. For every flight we are required to get our manager, sometimes even VP-level, approval. If it is a strategic meeting with a customer or partner and are not under strict travel restrictions we get approved. But not all of the time. I have been denied travel before if the trip is not considered strategic. I think this is important to show your managers reports like these so they can further shape their own decisions on when flying is 'strategic'.
Think about what can be done via email, phone, video conferencing, WebEx, etc. Perhaps a New Years Resolution for myself: Fly Less in 2007 and instead of flying overseas or across country for vacation find interesting things to do right around my own town.
One note from USA Today story: The biggest contributor of pollution is not airlines. The biggest contributors are "vehicular traffic and power plants." Even still, "its emissions are considerable."