July 17, 2019, 11:26 AM AST
By Jeremy Deaton
The average American generates around 1 ton of carbon pollution powering every lightbulb, phone, television, computer and kitchen appliance in their home for two months. But a single round-trip flight from New York to London is all it takes to generate that same amount of carbon pollution, a fact that has left some jetsetters feeling “flight shame,” and a growing number of others even forgoing air travel.
The airline industry has expressed concern that flight shame will put a dent in their bottom line, and they are taking steps to use less fuel — packing more passengers into fewer flights, for instance, or using high-tech navigation systems to make sure planes take the shortest route to their destination.
These changes will help curb pollution, experts say, but the best way to clean up planes is to switch to fuel made from plants.
“Biofuels are what’s going to save us when it comes to aviation,” said Corinne Scown, a scientist and engineer at the Joint BioEnergy Institute at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Emeryville, California. “There just aren’t a lot of other good options.”
Commercial aircraft run on kerosene-based fuel, but it is possible to make jet fuel from vegetable oil, algae, rotting fruit — even used diapers. Biofuels could cut carbon pollution from airplanes by upwards of 60 percent, potentially helping them pollute as little as buses and trains.
Several airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Air France, already power airplanes with a blend of conventional fuel and biofuel, though biofuels only account for a tiny part of the mix. That's because biofuels are currently very costly — “approximately two to three times as expensive as conventional jet fuel," a spokesperson for the Dutch airline KLM said.
Costs will fall as airlines buy more biofuel, spurring suppliers to build more refineries near major airports, creating a pipeline for cheaper plant-based fuel. Before that happens, however, suppliers will need to secure a steady supply of raw material.
