Want To Stop Climate Change?

Stop flying places for vacation!

Imagine this. You are flying high above the clouds. You are sitting in a reclining chair — no passengers are visibly behind are in front of you. You are watching TV on your own 22-inch personal flat screen, but are contemplating whether or not you should go to the planes’ Sky bar for a drink. It’s around midnight and stewardesses are coming around to give out complimentary chocolate chip cookies and mini Godiva chocolates. This is a brief snapshot of some of the services you could receive while flying first class on Qatar Airways, which is one the most highly-rated air services in the world, and starting at $5000 or more per ticket, remains out of reach for most of humanity. This service has been described as top-notch, but often overlooked in our discussion of air travel is just how damaging these flights are to our environment. Qatar Airlines alone self-reported 18 million metric tons of CO2 emitted for the 2016/2017 year.

Air travel is something most residents of the United States have done at least once in their lives (roughly 81%). All of us know the joy of soaring above the clouds and the frustration of listening to someone play candy crush without headphones in the seat behind us. Air travel is not something Americans do consistently, however. It remains a luxury — the majority of Americans every year go on no trips at all.