When the Wright brothers first took to the skies just over 100 years ago, could we ever have imagined that by 2018 there would be an astonishing 3.77 billion people flying every year?!
It’s a figure that has been significantly increasing annually for decades, and with the meteoric rise of commercial air transportation, more and more aircraft are brought in to service demand.
It is estimated that there are as many as 6000 in flight at any given time, and up to 16,000 in the air during peak times – with one plane taking off and landing every second somewhere around the world.
Those interested can check the fascinating (and equally scary) flightradar24 – to see every aircraft currently in the air in real time. Spoiler alert – it’s A LOT!
So, with this amount of air traffic clogging up our skies, but not wanting to dampen our travelling dreams, we are on hand with some great tips on how you can reduce your carbon footprint – and why you must.
Why Should We Bother?
The debate continues to rage as to whether driving or flying is worse for the environment, and we’re not going to go into those mind-bending figures and statistics here.
The fact of the matter is they are BOTH bad – and we need to be doing all we can to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere.
These gases are continuing to affect climate change, with rising temperatures dramatically damaging the world around us, including the melting of the ice caps and rising seas leading to the devastation of eco-systems.
Not to mention the likelihood of coastal towns and cities being underwater. Wildlife becomes threatened as vegetation and food sources shift, and according to Nature Conservancy