Relative Environmental Impact?
Aviation is now increasingly in the sights of the environmentalists.
Air transport is known to be a major contributor of nitrogen oxides, unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, is claimed to be the greatest single source of CO2 emissions, and is claimed to be uniquely dangerous because of the fact that its emissions are high in the atmosphere. Aircraft released more than 600 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere in 1990. Aircraft currently cause about 3.5% of global warming from all human activities.
Aircraft greenhouse emissions will continue to rise and could contribute up to 15% of global warming from all human activities within 50 years.
Air Transport is never going to go away, but I wondered whether there was ant significant difference in emissions, per passenger/mile between piston-engined, turboprop and modern high bypass turbofan powered aircraft of similar capacity and range? And is there any technical possibility of using lower emission eco-friendly fuels in new piston engines - and would there be any environmental advantage in doing so?
We're probably never going to return to the days of struggling through the weather at propliner heights, nor of my father's RAF York taking the best part of a week to get to Singapore, but could piston or turboprop powered aircraft advantageously replace jets on shorter sectors?
I'd rather see aviation reacting to these challenges and solving some of the problems than see it being forced to meet its external environmental and social costs in full, through huge taxes on fuel and tickets, or being subjected to artificially subsidised and supported rail transport. We're in the 21st Century, after all, and while we've already lost supersonic transport, I'm loathe to see us going back to the 19th Century's favoured means of travel. Nor would I be content to see aviation being priced out of the reach of ordinary people.
I know one should never post after a night in the pub, but I've asked myself these questions when sober, and I don't know the answers.
But I'll bet many of my fellow PPRuNers do.....