Monday, February 6, 2023
Change Oracle Logo
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
Change Oracle Logo
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

What Aviation Efficiency can Teach us about the Power of Small Gestures

by Richard Matthews
December 18, 2020
in Technology, Transportation
0

It is entirely appropriate that big ticket efforts to reduce global warming causing greenhouse gas emissions are at the center of global climate efforts, however, there is also a need for small gestures. Such actions can make a big difference if repeated often. Governments (nations and subnational), public companies and private organizations all have a critical role to play and so do individuals. Efficiency in the aviation industry is a good illustration of how seemingly small efforts can make a difference. Something as simple as painting a plane with a light color can have a major impact. White paint is lighter than black paint because it has less pigment. Dark paint can add the equivalent weight of 8 passengersé  Painting an airplane white also decreases heat and increases durability.

Even something as simple as changing paper stock on airplanes can add up to major reductions in fuel use and concomitant emissions. In 2018 United Airlines switched to lighter paper for their inflight magazines. This action reduced the weight by only 1 ounce but when applied across the fleet United Airlines saved 170,000 gallons of fuel worth almost $300,0000.  Japan’s Nippon airlines has encouraged travelers to urinate before boarding and according to their calculations this will reduce weight and decrease carbon emissions by 5 tons per month.

The efficiency of the aviation industry has doubled in the last quarter century. According to the IEA the fuel intensity of new commercial jet aircraft fell an average 1.3 percent per year between 1968 and 2014.  A recent Virgin Airline study showed that with careful planning we can make air travel more efficient and decrease fossil fuel use by as much as 30 percent.

All of these efforts are laudable but they are nowhere near enough. We will need to do much more if we are to keep temperatures from surpassing the upper threshold limit (1.5-2C above preindustrial norms). While we should make air travel more efficient, these efforts should not obscure the reality that we must find alternatives to fossil fuel powered jet propulsion. The transportation sector is a major source of emissions and air travel is one of the most significant single contributor to climate change.  Although it is no easy feat we need to decarbonize through electrification. The point is that efficiency in the context of traditional air travel is grossly inadequate. We need alternative technologies (eg electrification, hydrogen, airships etc) all of which could benefit from efficiency initiatives such as the weight reduction efforts reviewed above.

Efficiency efforts also apply to individual lifestyle changes. We can personally cut our carbon footprints through simple gestures like turning down heating and cooling, and such actions can have a major impact when they are repeated often enough. However, these gestures are only meaningful in conjunction with large scale actions that have global impact.  As climate scientist Michael Mann explained, trying to shift responsibility to individual small actions without addressing major sources of emissions is the new face of climate denial.

Once again small gestures are nowhere near enough to curb global warming, but they are an important and necessary adjunct to the larger more dramatic efforts like replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources of power or finding alternatives to traditional aviation.

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

Online Course – Climate Change Leadership

Next Post

Webinar – Transition Pathway Initiative: Transportation Report

Related Posts

How 3 Carbon Removal Technologies Work Together to Mitigate Emissions

by Richard Matthews
November 3, 2022
0

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) sometimes referred to as negative emissions technology (NETs) or simply carbon removal can be divided into two major technological approaches, carbon capture (CC) and direct air...

Introduction to Carbon Removal Technologies for Climate Mitigation

by Richard Matthews
January 18, 2022
0

Here is a succinct yet comprehensive primer on carbon dioxide removal (CDR)*. This short video presentation was prepared and narrated by CDR researcher Richard Matthews. After reviewing the three major...

101 Environmental Victories of 2021

Despite the Headlines, 2021 Was A Year Full of Environmental Victories

by Richard Matthews
January 4, 2022
1

You cannot be faulted for failing to notice the long list of environmental wins that occurred in 2021.  Good news stories do not have the sensationalistic allure of dramatic prophecies...

Next Post

Webinar - Transition Pathway Initiative: Transportation Report

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Energy

Renewable Energy is Growing Rapidly but is it Enough to Stop Climate Change?

by Richard Matthews
January 31, 2023
0

Renewable energy continues to grow at a prodigious rate, but are the tremendous advances we are seeing enough to keep...

Read more
change oracle will explore the fundamental unworkability of capitalism

Confessions of a former capitalist: The journey that made me an advocate of systemic change

January 11, 2023

A Peace Pact with Nature Secured at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal (COP15)

December 29, 2022

Historic Progress on Climate Finance at COP27

December 19, 2022
3 decades of conference of the parties

Three Decades of UN Climate Change Conferences

December 12, 2022
  • About
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change
  • Events
  • Other

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Supply Chains
  • Economics
  • Energy
    • Renewables
    • Nuclear Power
    • Fossil Fuels
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Food
    • Transportation
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In