Hi, I'd love to become a Pilot but I'm very concerned about the contamination caused by the planes nowadays?

Question

I'm very caring of the environment and global warming even if I have a burning desire to learn to fly, I don't know I'm very confused now, if I fly I don't want to feel guilty of the environmental damage in general but fly is a career I'd like to try but still I feel sad to be part of the earth destruction, what do you think?

Answer 1

Well first of all, Becoming a pilot wont destroy the planet.  If you dont learn to fly some other lucky soul will instead.  The Earth isn't being destroyed, as well, but i won't go into that as saving the planet definetely is not a bad thing, i just look at it as improving the planet since i do not believe we're in grave danger of an enviromental disaster.  Also, new planes are becoming extremely fuel efficient.  They have to be with jet fuel hovering around 6 dollars a gallon and the largest airliners hold tens of thousands of gallons of fuel. I say fly, but it certainly isn't worth the money if you cant enjoy it.

Answer 2

There is no more fuel efficient means of carrying a large group of passengers a greater distance at greater speed than the latest models of passenger aircraft.

I am not sold on the entire argument of global warming just yet. There are a lot of political overtones and ramifications to the theories.

Do what you'll be happy doing and know that you are just helping people get to where they need to go.

Answer 3

If you learn to fly in a small single engine airplane and then fly that airplane for pleasure, the amount of atmospheric pollution you will produce will be negligible.  Small airplanes produce much less than automobiles do.  The cattle in the fields you fly over are producing more greenhouse gasses than all the airplanes in the world put together.

The planet is in fact being severely damaged, and the human contribution to global warming and the consequences of that are clear and scientifically measurable.  The people who don't know it yet have their own political agendas.  But as a pilot you will not be causing a net increase in the problem.

So fly.  Enjoy.  You won't be producing any net increase in pollution at all.

Answer 4

If you are so concerned about all this, stay home and lock yourself up until you die, then when you decay, that will be your last contribution to destroying the planet.

There are too many people who shout the sky is falling and no one is putting up the props to keep it up.

I also am concerned about the same things, but I am also convinced that man cannot destroy the earth if they tried, they also cannot change what is now happening. Since the beginning of time things have changed according to God's plan, and it will remain so until the end of time.

Having said all that, go ahead and do what you want, because your part will be minimal at worst in contributing to pollution. Meanwhile, let the people who have the knowledge and power to change the world worry about all that.

Answer 5

You might be too gullible to be a pilot.

Humans are not causing climate change, and in fact the latest evidence suggests the planet has been cooling for the last 10 years.

To try to maintain the planet in the state you like it when it's natural tendency is to warm and cool in cycles is the height of arrogance and narcissism. To think you can do that by not flying an airplane, or by changing your lightbulbs to compact fluorescent, or by driving a Prius is silly at worst; uninformed at best.

Get your pilot's license and burn some holes in the sky. Flying gives you a much greater appreciation of the size and beauty of our planet and will probably make you even more aware of real environmental issues than you already are.

Best wishes. Stay cool.

Answer 6

Please do not think on these lines. The pollution contributed by all the aircraft in the world is negligible compared to what the rest of the world is doing.

The new generation aircraft are very eco-friendly. The engines are clean burning and the effluents are not such as would create 'hot spots'. The noise levels have been considerably reduced. Waste disposal has been perfected to an extent that it does not pose a hazard any longer. The materials used in the aircraft industry are non-hazardous,

Consider all the above and then imagine that you are about to start a career in a field that is progressing rapidly towards a point where global warming will not be attributable to the flying machines. I am sure you will be able to drive the feeling of guilt out of your mind once you calmly review the above points and reconsider your frame of thinking.

Aviation is still the least harmful of all man made activities.