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    LECTURAS-librtos-Purple Book Hoffman Compress

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    William Navea
    The document summarizes how airplanes contribute to global warming through their carbon dioxide emissions. It notes that while air travel allows for convenient global travel, planes produce more CO2 than other forms of transportation. The CO2 emitted by planes traps heat and raises the Earth's temperatures. It also discusses how individuals can help address this issue by offsetting their CO2 emissions from flights through programs that plant trees or fund renewable energy projects. The summary suggests both governments and individuals will need to take action to curb airplane emissions and their impacts on global warming.

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    LECTURAS-librtos-Purple Book Hoffman Compress

    Uploaded by

    William Navea
    12 views3 pages
    The document summarizes how airplanes contribute to global warming through their carbon dioxide emissions. It notes that while air travel allows for convenient global travel, planes produce more CO2 than other forms of transportation. The CO2 emitted by planes traps heat and raises the Earth's temperatures. It also discusses how individuals can help address this issue by offsetting their CO2 emissions from flights through programs that plant trees or fund renewable energy projects. The summary suggests both governments and individuals will need to take action to curb airplane emissions and their impacts on global warming.

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    The document summarizes how airplanes contribute to global warming through their carbon dioxide emissions. It notes that while air travel allows for convenient global travel, planes produce more CO2 than other forms of transportation. The CO2 emitted by planes traps heat and raises the Earth's temperatures. It also discusses how individuals can help address this issue by offsetting their CO2 emissions from flights through programs that plant trees or fund renewable energy projects. The summary suggests both governments and individuals will need to take action to curb airplane emissions and their impacts on global warming.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    12 views3 pages

    LECTURAS-librtos-Purple Book Hoffman Compress

    Uploaded by

    William Navea
    The document summarizes how airplanes contribute to global warming through their carbon dioxide emissions. It notes that while air travel allows for convenient global travel, planes produce more CO2 than other forms of transportation. The CO2 emitted by planes traps heat and raises the Earth's temperatures. It also discusses how individuals can help address this issue by offsetting their CO2 emissions from flights through programs that plant trees or fund renewable energy projects. The summary suggests both governments and individuals will need to take action to curb airplane emissions and their impacts on global warming.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 3

    Published on Learn English | British Council (https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.

    org)
    Home > Aeroplanes and global warming

    Aeroplanes and global warming


    Have you ever looked out of the window of a plane at 30,000 feet at the vast expanses of empty
    ocean and uninhabited land, and wondered how people can have any major effect on the Earth?

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    Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane,


    Ain't got time to take a fast train.
    Lonely days are gone,
    I'm a-goin' home,
    'Cause my baby just a-wrote me a letter.
    Wayne Carson Thompson - The Letter

    Have you ever looked out of the window of a passenger plane from 30,000 feet at the vast
    expanses of empty ocean and uninhabited land, and wondered how people can have any major
    effect on the Earth? I have. But it is now becoming pretty clear that we are causing a great deal
    of damage to the natural environment. And the planes which rush us in comfort to destinations
    around the globe, contribute to one of the biggest environmental problems that we face today –
    global warming.
    For those of us lucky enough to have money to spend, and the free time to spend it in, there are
    a huge number of fascinating places to explore. The cost of air transport has decreased rapidly
    over the years, and for many people, especially in rich countries, it is now possible to fly around
    the world for little more than the contents of our weekly pay packets.

    Unfortunately, planes produce far more carbon dioxide (CO2) than any other form of public
    transport, and CO2 is now known to be a greenhouse gas, a gas which traps the heat of the sun,
    causing the temperature of the Earth to rise. Scientists predict that in the near future the climate
    in Britain will resemble that of the Mediterranean, ironically a popular destination for British
    holidaymakers flying off to seek the sun. If global warming continues, we may also find that
    many tourist destinations such as The Maldives have disappeared under water because of rising
    sea levels.
    As usual, people in the developing world are having to deal with problems created mainly by
    those of us in developed countries. Beatrice Schell, a spokeswoman for the European
    Federation for Transport and Environment says that, "One person flying in an airplane for one
    hour is responsible for the same greenhouse gas emissions as a typical Bangladeshi in a whole
    year." And every year jet aircraft generate almost as much carbon dioxide as the entire African
    continent produces.

    When you are waiting impatiently in a crowded departure lounge for a delayed flight or trying to
    find luggage which has gone astray, plane fares may seem unreasonably high, but in reality we
    are not paying enough for air travel. Under the “polluter pays principle”, where users pay for the
    bad effects they cause, the damage caused by planes is not being paid for. Aircraft fuel is not
    taxed on international flights and planes, unlike cars, are not inspected for CO2 emissions. Also,
    the Kyoto agreement does not cover greenhouse gases produced by planes, leaving
    governments to decide for themselves who is responsible.

    So what can be done to solve the problem? Well, although aircraft engine manufacturers are
    making more efficient engines and researching alternative fuels such as hydrogen, it will be
    decades before air travel is not damaging to the environment. Governments don’t seem to be
    taking the problem seriously, so it is up to individual travellers to do what they can to help.

    The most obvious way of dealing with the problem is to not travel by plane at all. Environmental
    groups like Friends of the Earth encourage people to travel by train and plan holidays nearer
    home. However, with prices of flights at an all time low, and exotic destinations more popular
    than ever, it is hard to persuade British tourists to choose Blackpool instead of Bangkok, or
    Skegness over Singapore. Friends of the Earth also advise using teleconferencing for
    international business meetings, but most businesspeople still prefer to meet face-to-face.

    However, there is a way of offsetting the carbon dioxide we produce when we travel by plane. A
    company called Future Forests, whose supporters include Coldplay and Pink Floyd, offers a
    service which can relieve the guilty consciences of air travellers. The Future Forest website
    calculates the amount of CO2 you are responsible for producing on your flight, and for a small
    fee will plant the number of trees which will absorb this CO2. Another company, co2.org, offers a
    similar service, but invests your money in energy saving projects such as providing efficient light
    bulbs to villagers in Mauritius.

    Yesterday I returned to Japan from England, and was happy to pay Future Forests 25 pounds to
    plant the 3 trees which balance my share of the CO2 produced by my return flight. Now the only
    thing making me lose sleep is jet lag.

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    Tags
    transport
    travel
    global warming
    global problems
    B2
    Source URL: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/aeroplanes-and-global-warming

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