Comments | earwigmc: travel by air or sea?

earwigmc

travel by air or sea?

Mar 15, 2008 17:22

i just found the answer to one of my questions within a question at the bottom of a webpage[0][1]:

Did you know that flying produces 36 times more carbon dioxide per passenger-mile than sea travel?

[0] as opposed to the bottom of a glass...?
[1] the webpage: http://members.aol

transport, environment

Comments 9

darkfloweruk March 15 2008, 17:33:00 UTC

http://www.seat61.com/index.html
This is a really handy website that has details on how to travel all over the world by sea, road or rail. Fancy a trip to Canada on a Russian oil tanker? It's all laid out for you, mate!

earwigmc March 15 2008, 17:45:33 UTC

yes! i used that site when i was planning to travel to romania the year before last - lots of great info *nods* hmmm, canada on a russian oiltanker? i could be interested... ;)

nyecamden March 15 2008, 18:41:06 UTC

Ooh, cool!

nyecamden March 15 2008, 18:41:58 UTC

I pretty much knew that, yeah. That's why I don't fly.

earwigmc March 15 2008, 19:55:54 UTC

yeah, i suspected it did, but wasn't sure of any figures/'evidence'... and was getting confused by friends telling me it might even out because of the longer time spent travelling. it's good to have it as 'per passenger-mile'. and i definitely feel i cannot justify travelling by aeroplane anywhere anytime (except maybe in an emergency situation where i really had to be somewhere sooner than i could get there by train or boat etc. the last time i flew anywhere was for the combination of my grandmother's death/funeral, my mum had taken ill the afternoon of my grandmother's death, and to stay on and support and help my parents dealing with my mum's health and my grandmother's stuff and home (my dad was executor)... it seemed like the most immediate way, and i think they wanted me there (guernsey) asap. i think i didn't have time to think of many options, i know trying to get a flight that could get me there was difficult - i arrived on the morning of the funeral...and it might've been the season that ferries were slow (cos of conditions ( ... )

an inconvenient truth :( parallelgirl March 16 2008, 14:02:22 UTC

I'm really struggling with this at the moment. I have every intention of travelling to Minneapolis in the next couple of years, and no way of justifying this environmentally. On the other hand I just don't have the time or resources to travel by sea. I'd really like to have some conversations with environmentally-conscious-people-who-fly about how they justify this...

Re: an inconvenient truth :( earwigmc March 16 2008, 16:57:03 UTC

i think you have to make your own compromises, decide what works for you, and take responsibility for your choices. i don't think it really matters whether i/anyone else refuse to fly... or whether other people choose to fly and how they explain/justify/square that - i think you need to make your own choice and feel & be okay within that - square it with yourself and the planet, the other people don't really matter so long as you've doen what you feel 'right' (subjective right, not objective right)

Re: an inconvenient truth :( parallelgirl March 16 2008, 19:33:13 UTC

*nods nods*
you are, as ever, wise...

baratron March 16 2008, 21:03:35 UTC

Unfortunately, I am ridiculously prone to seasickness. I get seasick in Poole Harbour, which is in places less deep than I am tall! Also, too many of the people I consider family live on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

So I fly to North America once or twice a year, and live my life with as minimal carbon dioxide emissions as possible the rest of the time. We travel to Europe exclusively on Eurostar. (The fact we don't own a car probably helps to compensate for the odd bit of flying - and the aeroplane would fly whether it was full or not.)