very_gloom

Do you have reservations about the environmental impact of your travel? (especially the non-essential trips taken to achieve further mileage status?)

I have a job that involves lots of airtravel (sometimes 20-25 flights a month) and am curious to hear your thoughts.

I dont think you understand the study you've posted - its comparing the weight of pollution generated per/km by an single-passenger car to a commercial plane. Remember how fast planes travel and that they generally go much greater distances than a typical car ride.

Actually being on the flight is the act-in-question here. Taking slightly less luggage on an 800,000 lb hunk of metal hurtling through the sky makes essentially zero difference.

Also, like all transport industries, the air travel industry is driven by demand, so yes it would make a difference if you decide not to take these flights.

Well you might want to read up on this, airplanes create a lot more pollution than cars. E.g. one return flight from the United Kingdom to Florida produces as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as a year's driving by the average British motorist. So your carbon footprint is actually probably very big. By my math, your single flight this weekend creates a larger carbon footprint than a year of driving a car.

Personally I try to buy carbon offset credits as often as possible and just generally feel guilty about it.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/732004.stm

cmon...really?