Planes Pollute Less Than Cars

Transportation is one of the main sources of pollution in the world and especially in the United States. A scientific study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, shows that driving a car is causing more damage than flying the same distance in an airplane.

A report was published in February by NASA, report that said that motor vehicles are the main cause of global warming. The current study, called “Specific Climate Impact of Passenger and Freight Transport,” says that even if normally planes cause more global warming because of the warming processes they create at high altitudes, an average car trip pollutes more than an average plane trip on the same distance.

This conclusion stands if you take into consideration all the factors, aerosols, long- and short-lived gases and cloud effects from transportation around the world. It is already well known that passenger trains and buses pollute less than cars, four to five times less actually, per passenger mile. Even if there are many variables, like the type of the car or of the plane used, the general conclusion is the same.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Jens Borken-Kleefeld said: “As planes fly at high altitudes, their impact on ozone and clouds is disproportionately high, though short lived. Although the exact magnitude is uncertain, the net effect is a strong, short-term, temperature increase. Car travel emits more carbon dioxide than air travel per passenger mile. As carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere longer than the other gases, cars have a more harmful impact on climate change in the long term,” CleanTechnica.com relates.

For the defense of the car-owners, it must be said that people do not usually take long trips by car as they would by plane, nevertheless driving is one of the major causes of global warming. So what can we do besides buying a rather expensive Eco-friendly car? Hopping on a bike, on a train or on a bus would be advised.