In Pursuit of Green Flight

The modern airplane creates a new geographical dimension.  A navigable ocean of air blankets the whole surface of the globe.  There are no distant places any longer:  the world is small and the world is one.

-Wendell Willkie

Flight is a magical thing, but it also has arguably the single largest impact of any international travel-related activity on the environment via greenhouse gas emissions.  Finding a flight is also the first unavoidable step in preparing for my study abroad trip to India.  And so Googling various combinations of the words “airline”, “emissions”, and “sustainability” has consumed my Personal Project time for the past few weeks.  After all of that research, I am finally prepared to book this day-long flight in the most eco-friendly way possible (read:  this is a “least bad” endeavor as there are currently no “good” options).

Step 1:  Choose an Airline

While the lowest price listed on Travelocity is usually my go-to flight plan, my flight-booking activities this time around have been anything but quick and one-dimensional.  There is a plethora of information available regarding advances in the aviation industry and particular activities and endeavors being undertaken by specific airlines.  All of this research, along with some input from a few friends, has led me to choose Etihad Airways for my transportation needs. 

Based in Abu Dhabi, Etihad has played an important role in the advancement of fuel efficiency and the search for an alternative to oil-based fuel.  On January 25^th of this year, Etihad became the first airline to fly on biofuel.  A new Boeing 777-300ER flew from Seattle to Abu Dhabi International Airport on a mix of traditional fuel and plant-based biofuel that was created using recycled vegetable cooking oil.  The airline has also formed a partnership with Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted future energy initiative, to develop carbon and waste reduction initiatives and establish a carbon credit purchasing for offset program.  You can also read some of President and CEO James Hogan’s thoughts on Etihad’s role in sustainability in Green Growth and Travelism.  But what it all boils down to for decision-making purposes is that Etihad seems to be doing its part to contribute to the sustainability movement and to create a future where green flight is possible.

Step 2:  Purchase Carbon Offsets

Having chosen an airline based on involvement in sustainability initiatives as opposed to price, I still felt that I wasn’t doing enough to combat the environmental impact of my flight, and thus began my search to learn more about carbon offsets.  The basic gist is summed up pretty well in Carbonfund.org’s tag line:  Reduce what you can, offset what you can’t.  As society exists today, there are some activities that produce unavoidable GHG emissions, air travel being one of them.  So a marketplace has formed for the environmentally-conscious to purchase carbon offsets to “counteract” the effect of the emissions their activities are producing in an attempt to reduce carbon footprints and further the development of alternatives.  Watch the video posted below for more detail about how carbon offsets work.

Of course, this practice does not get by without some harsh criticism.  An article in the Associated Press sums up many of the issues, including the concern that, by purchasing carbon offsets, consumers assuage their guilt and don’t feel pressure to reduce their impact to begin with.  There is also debate over the calculations used to determine the amount of emissions to offset for a given activity and over the price of carbon offsets (how do you put a price on environmentally damaging actions?).  An issue of New Internationalist magazine entitled “CO2nned:  Carbon offsets stripped bare” poses some serious accusations of programs that claim carbon neutrality.  A response posted on Treehugger counters many of the claims made and offers regulation as a possible suggestion for getting a better handle on the offset marketplace.

After all that I’ve read, I still have mixed feelings regarding carbon offsets.  I don’t think that by purchasing them I am making up for the impact of my carbon-fueled flight; however, if by purchasing offsets I can contribute to the renewable energy revolution, then I could get on board.  And so I went to Carbonfund.org’s flight calculator to find out how many carbon emissions I was responsible for and to contribute to renewable energy projects to counterbalance that amount.  A round trip flight for one from Nashville, TN to Hyderabad, India covers 17,320 miles, producing 3.20 tons of CO2, and costing $32.04 to offset.  The site also gives you the option to choose the type of offset you would like:  renewable energy and methane, energy efficiency and carbon credits, or reforestation and avoided deforestation (I went with option one).  A trivial amount to contribute to renewable energy?  Absolutely.  The path to carbon neutral flight has a long way to go.

Step 3:  Consider the Alternatives…and Get Psyched to Go to India!

A promising alternative to international travel?:

While I could eliminate the impact of this trip by not taking it, I somehow don’t feel that Sharing the Air (see video above) would have quite the same experiential effect on my life.  And despite all the criticisms and my own reservations regarding the less bad options I’ve listed, I hope that by taking the time to select an airline that is involved in making the industry more sustainable and by investing in renewable energy research and production via carbon offsets (however trivial the amount may be), taking this trip will in some small way help us move further down the path towards sustainable air travel and will reduce, or at the very least partially counteract, my own personal emissions impact.