Would climate disaster make you give up or reduce air travel?

Thanks to all for the explanations about the ratio of fuel to CO2.  I have always wondered about that and now I know.

Sea trains!

tjohn said:

Jackson_Fusion said:

No single drop of water believes it’s responsible for the flood.

Best comment of the whole discussion.  Reducing carbon emissions is going to  take a contribution from all human beings.  Suppose all Americans ate just 4 ounces of red meat per week...

It's not the eating of meat that needs to be dealt with. You've got this all backwards.

In short: not a chance. 

I do believe that someday air travel as we know it will end.

It will transform utilizing a totally different power technology.

conandrob240 said:

No. Giving up the joy and wonder of experiencing other countries and cultures doesn’t seem like a world worth living in anyway. There’s got to be more day-to-day things (commuting to work, corporate reform) that’d make more of an impact.

 Buying carbon credits will neutralize your part in the damage to the environment when you fly a plane.

I don’t even know what buying Carbon credits is. I think you are maybe referring to another poster?

I do a lot more than many, probably not as much as some. I don’t generally commute to work, I rarely drive my car, I recycle, I use reusable bags, I am conscious of things like water usage, I’m not much of a red meat eater (didn’t give it up for environmental reasons, just was always something that was a once a month for me). I’m sure I can improve but I’m also sure that giving up flying is not one of the ways I will be doing so. 

conandrob240 said:

I don’t even know what buying Carbon credits is. I think you are maybe referring to another poster?

I do a lot more than many, probably not as much as some. I don’t generally commute to work, I rarely drive my car, I recycle, I use reusable bags, I am conscious of things like water usage, I’m not much of a red meat eater (didn’t give it up for environmental reasons, just was always something that was a once a month for me). I’m sure I can improve but I’m also sure that giving up flying is not one of the ways I will be doing so. 

Don't worry about it. All of your efforts have approximately zero effect (and I'm including everyone else who does what you do.) on GW.

This is a math problem folks.

conandrob240 said:

I don’t even know what buying Carbon credits is. I think you are maybe referring to another poster?

I do a lot more than many, probably not as much as some. I don’t generally commute to work, I rarely drive my car, I recycle, I use reusable bags, I am conscious of things like water usage, I’m not much of a red meat eater (didn’t give it up for environmental reasons, just was always something that was a once a month for me). I’m sure I can improve but I’m also sure that giving up flying is not one of the ways I will be doing so. 

 No.  This tells you what carbon credits are:  https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-offset.htm  Just last week I read an article in the Times about buying carbon credits when you fly on a plane, and they are very reasonably priced, something like $3.50 for a flight to California.  Of course that is an offset for your seat in the plane, not the whole plane.  I couldn't find the article, I will keep trying.

It's a good solution to the problem.

Buying carbon credits is a excuse for avoiding real action.

Most of these things that accelerate climate change won't really be impacted significantly without action at the governmental level.  So the best thing we can all do is support candidates (financially and by voting) who are more likely to work toward the right kinds of action in this arena.  

That doesn't mean that we shouldn't also take reasonable personal steps (such as those conandrob mentions), but eliminating air travel is beyond my personal reasonable realm right now.  However, I will keep trying to reuse and recycle as much as possible, consolidate my errands and travel, etc.  

Virtually all my air travel is for work, so yeah, I’d be willing to make the sacrifice. For the earth. 

Considering how dire the state of the climate emergency is, not taking a flight is probably a good idea -- in principle. Realistically speaking though it isn't going to do much. We need federal level legislation across the world before things really change. And although we absolutely should be attempting to curtail/mitigate our emissions while making real preparations for climate change impacts sooner rather than later, it may be too late to do much to stop it. We're about to fall off a cliff.

Carbon credits can be used when there are no other choices to releasing carbon onto the atmosphere, not instead of doing anything to curb your carbon footprint.  $3.50 may not be much, but it can buy 2.5 saplings in the retail market, much more wholesale.  

I live in an agricultural area, and I believe that the amount of carbons released by agriculture compose something like half the carbon released into the atmosphere every year.  People in Chile are talking about climate change as much as they do in the US, if not more.  I have agricultural engineers responsible for large tracks of land in my ESL classes, and we read in class about the environmental impact of what they do.  They are informed, but they have no support to alter their habits.  They need grant money to support change.  Their bosses are interested in the bottom line, not saving the planet.  

I am no expert on carbon credits, but if resources go to carbon credits, people will tap into them, and more change will happen.  It's better than sitting around doing nothing.

How do carbon credits work and where/how do you purchase them?

I wonder if Trump has noticed that the Chinese are exploiting their climate change hoax to take a leadership position in non-carbon power generation.