A common sight isn’t it? But maybe not during this COVID-19 season where flights are restricted and traveling is banned in some countries. I’m sure we all missed those times where we can travel around freely and enjoy our holidays. 

Honestly speaking, I do miss not being able to travel during the summer break because it’s kind of boring being stuck at home. But maybe it’s a good time for Mother Earth to take a break from our constant pollution 🤔

Have you thought about how much air pollutants are emitted into the atmosphere through one single airplane? According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2019), around 70% of the emissions are from carbon dioxide (CO₂), 30% are from contrails, and nitrogen gases and particles account for less than 1%.

FUN FACT: According to Inman Mason (2010), a plane exhaust emission does more harm than a plane crash. The toxic pollutants emitted from a plane exhaust kill around 10 thousand people each year compared to a plane crash which kills about a thousand people. That is equivalent to having 10 plane crashes each year! 

That’s how toxic a plane exhaust can be! It can, directly and indirectly, affect us. Since that is so, then why isn’t their regulation enforced to minimize the amount of emission emitted? According to Schlenker & Walker (2016), aircrafts emission has only been viewed seriously in recent years and there are hardly any rules imposed to manage the amount of pollutants emitted. Earlier studies had only considered the amount of pollutants emitted during take-off and landing but not when the plane is cruising through the sky (Inman Mason, 2010). Moreover, it is hard to track the emission level as different pollutants are emitted at different amounts in different stages – take off, landing, and cruising. (Schlenker & Walker, 2016). 

This is of utmost concern as the growth of air travel is increasing. With more aircrafts flying across the sky, our atmosphere is just going to keep getting polluted unless we start to monitor its emission closely and implement stricter laws to keep the pollutants level in check. Otherwise, we will be at the mercy of all these toxic pollutants that result from our own actions. 

Your environmental buddy,
Jeanice

References:
Environmental and Energy Study Institution. (2019). Fact Sheet: The growth in Greenhouse Gases Emission from Commercial Aviation, Part one of a Series on Airlines and Climate Change. Retrieved from https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-the-growth-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-commercial-aviation

Inman Mason. (2010). Plane Exhaust Kills More People than Plane Crashes. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101005-planes-pollution-deaths-science-environment/#:~:text=In%20recent%20years%2C%20airplane%20crashes,people%20each%20year%2C%20researchers%20say.&text=Airplane%20exhaust%2C%20like%20car%20exhaust,sulfur%20dioxide%20and%20nitrogen%20oxides.

Whiting, Kate. (2014). A plane coming in to land at Gatwick Airport, as the airport celebrates its 80th anniversary of its first flight. [Online image].
Retrieved from https://home.bt.com/lifestyle/travel/travel-advice/plane-travel-why-do-you-have-to-keep-blinds-up-on-take-off-and-landing-11364068930178 

Schlenker.W & Walker.W.R. (2016). Airports, air pollution, and contemporaneous health. The Review of Economic Studies, 83(2 (295)), 768-809. doi:10.1093/restud/rdv043