Summary
Modern age is characterized by the great tempo. People are constantly in a hurry, trying to achieve some goal. The question of speed and time becomes prioritized and the air transportation industry succors. It is the best method to save the time and reach the destination point in the fastest way. Today “air transport moves over 2.2 billion passengers annually” (Aviation & Environment, para. 1). That is why the air transportation industry develops rapidly, “in the last 35 years there has been a six-fold increase in the mobility provided by the U.S. air transportation system” (Waitz, Townsend, Cutcher-Gershenfeld, Greitzer, Kerrebrock, p.3). Now, the air transportation industry is a critical part of an economy of each state. It provides the passenger and cargos moving all over the world, obtaining new features and asking new questions, that have never been discussed before. The great number of different researches had been made in this sphere and the results were unpromising. The number of flights has prominently grown and the question of environmental security occurs.
Problem
The environmental effect of the air transportation industry should be taken into account, as “with the expected three-fold increase in global air travel over the next 30 years, the reliability and environmental impact of aviation are becoming critical issues for the future of flight” (Kroo, p.8).
Signification of the Problem
In modern word the question of the air pollution is of the main importance because the aviation produces 13-15% of total greenhouse gas emissions (Clark, 2010, para. 4). The great damage is also done to the ozone layer. The supersonic airplanes are responsible for the ozone depletion in the atmosphere, evolving Nitrogen oxide (What’s Wrong with Air Transport?, n.d), which causes the great changes in the stratosphere. The further development of that industry will make things even worse. This is not only the question of the increasing number of flights and the raise of the consumption of fuel, but the enlarging of the aviation companies too, “it is estimated that the equivalent of 1300 new international airports will be required by 2050 with a doubling in the commercial aircraft fleet” (Aviation & Environment, para 6). The development of the aircraft industry with the creation of new plants and factories will also lead to the deterioration of the state of the atmosphere and the increasing level of air pollution.
The fuel problem should also be mentioned. The flight for 2,325 miles demands in average 29 gallons of fuel per passenger (Kroo, 2008). The fast depleting oil resources also raise fears.
Development of the alternate action
As it can be seen, the problem now is of the main importance. There are some ways of how it can be solved.
The first and the most obvious way is to reduce the number of flights ,”this might mean giving up flying altogether or it might mean taking fewer flights and picking destinations that are closer to home” (Clark, 2010, para. 8). The air transport should become the last resort, which can be used only in extreme cases. This is the easiest and at the same time rather difficult way. People should understand and realize the importance of their refusal. It can be possible only with the raise of the environmental consciousness. From the early childhood children should recognize their great influence on this world.
The second way to solve this problem and reduce the damage done by the air transportation industry is much more complicated. It consists of creating some new “green plains” which will consume less fuel and emit much less engine pollutants. The following decisions present some severe difficulties. The problem is that the assayed solutions developed in the car building industry will not pass here – “the problem is that electric motors can’t produce enough power to get a plane off the ground.”(Clark, 2010, para. 9), so the environmentally friendly engines should be designed especially for airplanes. Another component of the “green plane” concept is a biofuel, which should change kerosene. This is also not an ideal solution because the production of biofuels of any kind is rather complicated process and they can be environmentally problematic in themselves. There are some projects of hydrogen fueled airplanes but they face a lot of challenges (Kroo, 2008). The enlarging of the fuel tanks and, as the result, bigger size and height should be taken into account while talking about such types of plains. The combination of all that decisions within one plain can help to create the so-called “green plane”, which will help to reduce the amount of pollution.
Recommendation
Having analyzed all the facts and researches connected with this issue, it is possible to make a conclusion that only careful attention and investments for the investigations in the sphere of “green” technologies can help to avoid environmental problems in the future.
Immediate action is required to address the interdependent challenges of aviation noise, local air quality and climate impacts. Environmental impacts may be the fundamental constraint on air transportation growth in the 21st century”. (Waitz et al., 2004, p.3).
Reference List
Aviation & Environment. (2011). Web.
Clark, D. (2010). Aviation Q&A: the impact of flying on the environment.The Guardian. Web.
Kroo, I. (May 2008). Sustainable Aviation: Future Air Transportation and the Environment. Web.
Waitz, I., Townsend, J., Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J., Greitzer, E., Kerrebrock, J. (dec. 2004). Aviation and the Environment.Web.
What’s Wrong with Air Transport?. (n.d.). Web.