Reduced dependence on flying

Environmental impact
Like all human activities involving combustion, operating powered aircraft (from airliners to hot air balloons) releases greenhouse gases, soot, and other pollutants into the atmosphere. In addition, there are several types of environmental impact specific to aviation:


 * Most light piston aircraft burn avgas, which contains tetra-ethyl lead and can cause soil contamination at airports. Some lower-compression piston engines can operate on unleaded mogas (but only when it is not blended with ethanol), and turbine engines and diesel engines — neither of which requires lead — are appearing on some newer light aircraft.


 * Larger aircraft can release significant quantities of chemicals that interact with greenhouse gases at specific altitudes, particularly nitrogen compounds, which interacts with ozone, increasing ozone concentrations.


 * Aircraft operating at high altitudes emit aerosols and sometimes leave contrails, both of which can increase cirrus cloud formation — cloud cover may have increased by up to 0.2% since the birth of aviation.

In many countries aviation is the fastest growing source of carbon emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that by 2050 aviation will account for 4% of all CO2 released by human activity and to increase ozone concentration by 13% at typical jet cruise altitudes. According to the IPCC, all four types of emission combined will likely contribute to warmer surface temperatures through radiative forcing.

Campaigns

 * Stop Stansted Expansion
 * AirportWatch umbrella movement of national environmental organisations and airport community groups

Related Wikipedia content

 * Aviation and the environment
 * Aviation and climate change