As each day passes the Earth's condition is slowly deteriorating and this is partly our fault. From the developments of industrialisation to Globalisation we are living in a more polluted environment and I feel it should be our duty to slow the effects or at least control it. So why are we not taking up more of the eco-friendly resources which are available to us, especially in the developments of air transport. There have already been progress in introducing carbon emmision free airplanes which have already been designed and constructed, but why aren't they at our use already. Flying is a particularly contentious environmental issue. Although it only accounts for 7% of global carbon emissions, these are released high in the atmosphere where they can do the most damage. The purpose of this blog is to illustrate that the concept of global warming is a serious threat and that air craft pollution is a contributing factor. There are new improved forms of aviation out there and I want to demonstrate the developments of this.
The story so far: Air Traffic Trends and Forecasts
In 1994, the world’s commercial airline industry
comprised about 15,000 aircraft serving nearly 10,000
airports. Globally, total scheduled air traffic between
airlines registered in countries belonging to the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (excluding
former USSR) increased by 74 per cent between 1985
and 1995. Total passenger kilometres flown (scheduled
and non-scheduled) increased by 67 per cent in the same
period and total freight tonne-kilometres flown by
scheduled services more than doubled.
The number of aircraft using British airports rose by 55
per cent between 1986 and 1996. During the same
period, the number of people who flew into or out of
British airports increased by 82 per cent and the cargo
handled by British airports by 105 per cent.
Unsurprisingly, some British airports are amongst the
busiest in the world.
The Department of Transport expects the number of
passengers passing through UK airports to rise by 73-
163 per cent between 1992 and 2010, with the
proportion using regional airports increasing.
Meanwhile the International Air Transport Association
(IATA) expects the number of passengers using UK
airports to more than treble by 2025. At the
international level, British Airways told the Royal
Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP) that it
expected passenger travel worldwide to grow at five to
six per cent a year between 1994 and 2010, which means
it would more than double. RCEP considered this
reflected a general view in the airline industry.
http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/air_transport_key_facts.pdf
