Myths of the Greens

Aviation is destroying the Earth! Most environmentalists will tell you that air travel, by which they mean your two weeks away in Benidorm or Corfu every August, is a major cause of Anthropogenic Global Warming AGW!" #ow, leaving aside the $uestion of whether AGW even e%ists, an analysis of the relevant statistics tells us that aviation accounts for just two per cent of annual man&made carbon dio%ide emissions compared to four to five per cent for shipping!, and only one per cent of all human C'( emissions since the start of the )ndustrial *evolution" +owered flight is ,-. years old at the time of writing!" )ts use is e%panding, despite the setbacks of periodic economic crises, but in fact the same can be said of sea and road transport" )n reality cars, buses and lorries are responsible for most of the C'( emissions from transport" According to the /uropean Commission0s statistics agency /urostat, aviation0s share of total carbon dio%ide emissions from transport within the /uropean 1nion rose from ,-"2 per cent in ,..- to ,3"4 per cent in (--2" 5owever, this is dwarfed by /1 emissions from road transport, which amounted to 6("4 per cent of the total in (--2" Percentages of EU carbon dioxide emissions from transport by mode: *oad transport Air transport *ail transport )nland navigation rivers and canals! 1990 63"67 10"!# 3"27 ("27 00! 6("47 1$"%# ("87 ,"27

&o'rce: http:((epp"e'rostat"ec"e'ropa"e'(statistics)exp*ained(index"php(+ransport)energy)cons'mption)and)emissions

)t0s easy to see why this is when we compare the emissions per passenger mile for various forms of passenger transport" 9he private car remains the least energy&efficient modern mode of transport of all" 1rban and inter&urban railways are more efficient than domestic and short&haul international flights, and a strong argument remains for replacing aircraft with high&speed trains over shorter distances, especially with the advent of 3-mph magnetic levitation railways" But surprisingly or perhaps not!, intercontinental flights are more fuel&efficient than long&distance rail" After all, the airliner is a form of mass transit like the train or the bus" But in the end, the humble inter&city bus or coach takes the pri:e for the most efficient form of passenger transport" ,arbon dioxide emissions of common transport modes in Grammes per Passenger Mi*e: Mode of transport ,- emissions Car 22- g;mile Air*iner .domestic/ 0 11 mi*es2!1! g(mi*e Bus inner city! 3-- g;mile Air*iner .domestic/ 4 11 mi*es2 1% g(mi*e Air*iner .internationa* short3ha'*2 !0 g(mi*e *ail long&distance! ,.- g;mile Air*iner .internationa* *ong3ha'*2 110 g(mi*e *ail commuter and metro! ,8- g;mile Bus long&distance! 6- g;mile Practica* speeds (-&6- mph $003%00 mph (- mph $003%00 mph %003500 mph 6-&3-- mph %003500 mph 3- mph 8- mph

Air freight emits far more C'( for each ton transported over a mile than any other mode, but is also less utilised" Most freight nowadays is moved by road" <ea freight has the lowest C'( emissions per ton&mile" #evertheless, ecologist groups such as <eas at *isk see shipping as part of the problem rather than part of a solution to their concerns about the environment" ,arbon dioxide emissions of common cargo freight modes in Grammes per +on3 Mi*e: Air freight *oad freight *ail =reight Airship <ea freight 105g ,8.g ,-4g 66g 2-g
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&o'rce: http:((en"6i7ipedia"org(6i7i(Environmenta*)impact)of)transport http:((en"6i7ipedia"org(6i7i(Environmenta*)impact)of)aviation

When we consider that flying is many times safer than any other transport mode, with one death per (- billion passenger&kilometres, and that it is the fastest, most practical and economic form of transport for journeys over large bodies of water or distances much over ,,--- miles, and we see that, all in all, air travel is good thing" )ndeed, aviation is a wonderful thing that has always captured the human imagination" But, like many great human technological achievements, it seems to be anathema to environmentalists" 8eaths per bi**ion passenger37i*ometres Aircraft -"-4 Bus -"2 *ail -"8 <hip or boat ("8 Car 3", Bicycle 22"8 =oot 42"( Motorcycle ,-6".
&o'rce: http:((en"6i7ipedia"org(6i7i(Air)safety

Eating meat is destroying the Earth! > 9he farting! elephant in the room is that environmentalist ideology incorporates concepts of animal rights and the sacrosanctity and perfection of nature in its primitive state" 9hus they are ideologically inclined to be vegetarians and vegans and to buy organic food" > Arguably the cow fart scare, along with the broader campaign against modern farming methods, is nothing more than an attempt by vegetarian and vegan Greens to impose their personal lifestyle choices and points of view on the majority of the population"