Carbon calculator: taking one flight emits as much as many people do in a year

Re:Carbon calculator: taking one flight emits as much as man... by antisthenes on Friday July 19, 2019 @11:42AM (#20479548)

Well, maybe if the US had a functioning health care system, I wouldn't have to fly out of the country for any medical procedures.

Unfortunately, taking a train across the Atlantic is also a no-go.

Also, quite unfortunately, the US passenger rail system sucks in general, so it's never going to be an alternative to flying, not in the next 30 years anyway.

There are no alternatives for flying.

There are, however alternatives for local transport, which are hybrid/electric buses, light rail, and generally not buying a giant F150 truck if you live in the city and don't actually need one.

So maybe we can start there instead of bashing flying.

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Re:Carbon calculator: taking one flight emits as much as man... by dgacmu on Friday July 19, 2019 @04:40PM (#20482273)

You seem to be taking this oddly personally. Here, bash my flying instead: I'm about to take off from San Diego back to Pittsburgh after being here for 13 hours of a 25-person meeting. We collectively agree it produces better outcomes than trying to discuss online, but perhaps we should decide it's not worth the externalized costs.

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Re:Carbon calculator: taking one flight emits as much as man... by antisthenes on Friday July 19, 2019 @06:09PM (#20482853)

I don't really want to bash anyone's flying, because as it turns out:

1. There's no real alternative like I said 2. It's actually pretty damn efficient compared to personal vehicles 3. There is very tangible value produced by flying, compared to other forms of CO2 emissions (e.g. commuting in large personal vehicles or recreational boating)

And yes, it's hard not to take health care issues personally. Until someone figures out how to grow redundant organs from stem cells on the cheap.

[ Parent | on HN ]