From SEJ.org:
When considering the impact of transportation on the environment, most people think of cars. However, air travel is gaining increasing scrutiny as a climate change culprit. Are people and organizations in your region aware of how their flying habits affect global climate? How significant is this impact? And what, if anything, are today's air travelers willing to do about it?
In June 2006, ABCnews.com reported that "Air travel accounts for about 3.5 percent of the human contribution to global warming," according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
At issue is not just today's air travel, but tomorrow's. IPCC says "CO2 emissions from aircraft in 1990 account for about 2.4% of the total; they are projected to grow to about 3% or more than 7% of all fossil fuel carbon emissions by 2050".
AIR TRAVEL GAINING POPULARITY - Air travel is now more popular than any time since 9/11. In March 2007, the Official Airline Guide (OAG, an air travel industry research and publishing organization) reported that the number of flights scheduled in October 2007 is 3% higher than in the same month last year. ..the highest October figure for more than five years."
Federal statistics also indicate the increasing popularity of air travel. On Oct. 15, 2007, the US Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported: "US. airlines carried 72.2 million scheduled domestic and international passengers on their systems in July, a record high for a single month and 2.2 percent more than the previous record of 70.6 million in July 2005."; release.
More data from OAG: "Flights & Capacity Continue To Increase Year-On-Year,"