Blog Action Day - Airport Recap

Firstly, I beg the apologize from Blog Action Day team (if anyone do check this blog) for being late. I didn't even have the time for the blood donation, sorry Red Cross too. Anyway, I am posting up my stuff now. A few days ago, lecturer Mike gave us a homework which I think only a few Earth science student did. We were to check individual carbon footprint and the carbon cost for a single flight from Brisbane to Melbourne. Interesting. I wanted to do this before but was convinced by laziness. Now, time to get things clear. My calculations were based on user-friendly websites, so I don't think the precision is good. I'll check the figures someday when I am available. (Now...where did I put my paper...Here you go).

World population: 6.8 billions ¹
World CO₂ emmision: 17.5 Gt/yr ¹
so, Individual CO₂ emmision: 2.57Gt/yr

What the?! Nope, some people, such as Americans, spend a lot more CO₂ than others. If we're to live on the basis of an average American, we will need 5 Earths to support ourselves ². Anyway, it's still notable that we spend so much carbon. Instead of using the classic Hamburger Scenario to explain the scale of an individual's carbon footprint, I will talk about flights.

 
Humans & Flights, 2009 Myth Guy's Capture
 

One-way flight from Brisbane to Melbourne: 0.3 tonnes CO₂ ³
One-way flight from Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur: 1.1 tonnes CO₂ ³
Typical mature woody tree mass: 3 tonnes CO₂ ⁴

Seems okay, yeah? No. The flight carbon costs are based on one time spending. However, no hardwood tree could reach such mass (3t CO₂) within a year. In short, if I want to sequester the CO₂ I spent on flights by planting tree, I have to wait several years for the tree to grow before I am "permitted" to fly again. Eat less hamburgers and fly less. You may argue that feet can't match flights, but it can match automobiles within short distance. So walk!

References:
¹Worldometers.info 2009, Worldometers, viewed 13 October 2009, http://www.worldometers.info/.
²Stenberg Michael 2006, _The Planet_, Charon Film, Sveriges Television AB.
³Carbon Planet 2009, Flight Emissions Calculator, viewed 18 October 2009, http://www.carbonplanet.com/shop/flight_emissions_calculator.
⁴CRC for Greenhouse Accounting 2003, The Tree Carbon Calculator, viewed 18 October 2009, http://svc237.bne113v.server-web.com/calculators/treecarbonresults.cfm.