Spotlight: Travel’s Effects On The Environment Written by Olivia Chamberlain | Designed by Jill O’Farrel | Photographed by Mark Michelini
With flying becoming more accessible nearly two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, almost every American is looking forward to traveling again. However, does traveling help or hurt the slowly but surely polluted environment? When travel ceased at the beginning of the pandemic, popular nature spots across the country were flourishing due to the lack of travelers coming to visit. It’s safe to say that the lack of travel during Covid-19 did not hurt the flora and fauna of the world, but with vaccine mandates and mask enforcement in airports across the nation, the idea of traveling again is becoming more tangible. While many car brands are creating hybrid models, which have the option to be charged electrically instead of using gasoline, there aren’t many similar options available for airplanes. What’s the issue with flying? According to the David Suzuki Foundation, “Flights are energy-intensive and
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depend on fossil fuels. Emissions from flights stay in the atmosphere and will warm it for several centuries.” It’s believed that almost a quarter of fossil fuel emissions by 2050 will be caused by flying. With the number of people traveling by plane having doubled over the past two decades, it’s no wonder that the environmental impact on the atmosphere is so high. Because airplane emissions are released in the upper atmosphere, the damage is rapid and vast compared to emissions at ground level. Eurostar, a transport operator based in Europe, held a research study about the effects traveling by train has on fossil fuel emissions compared to traveling by plane. It was concluded that traveling to Paris via a London-Paris Eurostar journey effectively cut passenger emissions by 90% when compared to flying. It seems like many other countries besides the United States are making an effort
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while contributing more emissions at the same time. China, for example, is expanding its high-speed rail network while simultaneously building hundreds of new airports. While America doesn’t yet have the infrastructure for a rail network like Europe and China’s, there are efforts to include it as a part of the Green New Deal (BBC). Despite hearing about these emissions, there hasn’t been a huge effort by individuals in reducing travel. The New York Times points out that it’s very difficult to consider how our own behavior can impact climate change. There isn’t a single face responsible for the climate-induced wildfires in California, nor the rising sea levels that threaten Miami’s livelihood. But with this comes what we call the “bystander effect,” which is when one feels less influenced to help a situation when there are others around. This is
