great tip... but i still need to fly to get to a place faster...

Great idea, if you have months to get anywhere. Would have like more details on exactly how much other mass transit emits versus flying.

i agree totally with what you're saying; i had a car for a lot of years (i sold it for financial, not environmental reasons, and i'm not ashamed to admit i miss that car horribly) -- but it was my husband's and my only vehicle, and we walked nearly everywhere we could anyway (often 5-10 miles a day).

i didn't think the loss of the car would be a great burden. but we moved recently, to a fairly large midwestern city, and the public transportation is horrible! we can't get anywhere we need to, a simple 5-mile trip can take two hours, and the cost is prohibitive.

so while i like your message, and your video, i think a lot more focus needs to be on making public transit an affordable, practical option.

Thanks for the comments everyone. Just to answer a couple of the questions that came up.

Chad, it's true that flying still gets us places faster. And people will always need to fly. But when it comes time for a vacation, we also need to consider the impact our vacation will have and one that doesn't involve airplanes will have less impact on the environment.

KC, that's a great point. I had to cut half the video because I couldn't get the rights to a song. I'll post more information on mass transit emissions on my website this week. But basically, planes come out the worst because of the physics involved in raising that much weight into the air. You can travel the same distance in many vehicles, but no other vehicle has to fight gravity the entire way. One person driving a car that weighs around a ton isn't that far behind an airplane passenger in terms of emissions per person. But if you add one more person, you can cut the per person emissions in half. Take a road trip with 4 people and you're doing much better than if you flew. For data, I'm using the IPCC's report on transportation emissions. You can download it here: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.htm
But be warned, the data is raw and you really have to crunch numbers.

Katze, that's very true about mass transit in North American cities. We lag far behind the rest of the world in mass transit infrastructure. It's a very affordable and practical option when traveling outside North America. But mass transit back home won't improve until the demand for it increases and governments, along with community members, focus their money and willpower on transportation projects with longterm benefits for their communities. We just have to keep pushing as hard as we can and when we are in places with great transportation infrastructure, make sure we use it.

This is one which I have been waiting to see mentioned by 'anybody' (except me, I sort of gave up )I guess the reality here is REALLY inconvenient for many people but....it is extremely important! Taking authentic 'personal responsibility' requires more than just what is easy to address. Jet pollution is at the top of the list of air contaminants and ultimately toxifies the water and soil.
So 'WHY' do so many people fly when they could Train or boat? Just more corporate manipulation and PR hype. 'WE' actually DO have alternatives to air travel. "they" just hope we all forget about this. Sadly, the campaign has worked so well on many people. I would fly only if it was a dire Necessity!

Brilliant! What happened to your hair?

Also, do you know if it is worse environmentally when planes take routes that fly over the arctic than other areas? Just curious.

Also, the F.S. exam I wrote yesterday had a thing on why public transit is so shit in North America. Apparently, there are two reasons. The first is that ridership has dropped while car purchases and urban trip making have increased, so there is more pressure to spend money on roads than buses and trains. More importantly though, the "transit dependent" and carless are an easy demographic to neglect because they tend to be poorer, have limited politic clout, vote less often, and are in the minority. So, maybe this is just the Marxist in me speaking, but we don't need more pressure. We need a complete revolution!

So the next time you need to get to Tokyo from Toronto, jerk wad, take a train.

great vid - didn't know that a plane flight produced quite that much.

I'm going from Japan to Canada, Rock Robster, and it's not possible to take a train the entire way. I have to take a boat, too.

I am by no means suggesting we give up airplanes. They serve a very valuable purpose when we need to get someplace fast.

If you need to be in Tokyo because the love of your life is about to marry a salaryman that's totally wrong for her, or you landed a new job in Shinjuku and they want you there yesterday, you're going to fly. Be aware of the damage that flight causes, same as when you drive to the grocery store or turn on a light bulb. And once you get to Tokyo, buy yourself a bicycle and on rainy days use their beautifully convenient public transit system.

But the real question is: Do I need to go to Tokyo?

We make decisions based on desires and decisions based on necessity. When we decide to travel, we have to consider not only how we travel, but also to where we travel, because that may actually determine how we travel. And from there, we're free choose as we see fit and make whatever impact on the environment we're comfortable with.

If you're not happy with the damage airplane emissions can have on the environment, then perhaps your next vacation should be a little closer to home or you should give yourself extra time to take a more eco-friendly mode of transportation.

I am only part of the way from Japan to Canada by land and sea, but let me assure you, it's an absolutely amazing way to travel.

Hey K-Rock. I cut my hair to reduce my drag coefficient and make me more energy efficient.

That's a good question about the arctic. I don't know the answer to that. I will see if I can find out. How's the S-dot?

This is the best green video I've ever seen. Do we have to log in to rank it?
nice haircut*^^*

This was a very informative video and sincere. I have not researched his point of view yet but I will do so.
thank you

Mr. Freeman!!!
It's so nice to hear from you and see you on video. I'm so inspired by your trip. I traveled my country on bicycle to reduce CO2, and convey my message to people around the country, too. You expanded the movement to the world scale!!! How exciting. I didn't realize that airplane produces so much harm to environment. Thanks.

oh this was the one you're doing it!

man i was so shocked by your NEW FRESH hair cut.

.....

good luck with your journey and hope you can prove what you wanted to show us

bye

i had no idea.
i want to see how you managed to get home next.
thats the fun.

The message of your short film reminded me of a program I saw on NOVA ("Dimming the Sun") in which it was reported that:

The three day grounding of the entire U.S. airline fleet immediately following September 11, 2001, "presented a unique opportunity to study the effects of airplane vapor trails on the atmosphere. Comparing changes in the daily temperature range showed that the absence of dimming from aircraft pollution alone made a marked difference to the temperature. This result hints at how much the effects of atmospheric pollution had been underestimated." (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/about.html)

Thank you

The air travel thing struck me hard about 6 years ago, cruising at 15000 feet and watching my own progress on the monitor in front of me. I've tried to figure out the fuel economy of jets and it ain't easy - is this a hidden factoid?
I would like to be able to post the amount of jet fuel Major League Baseball uses in a season. Any thoughts on how to figue that estimate?

I thought this was a very effective wake-up call, thank you!

Let's all Vacation Locally for awhile. Bike, Garden, Grill. Try Bio-diesel, EV-Touring to area farms & beaches. (At least buy Carbon Offsets for flying if you can...and call/write letters to the Media and Airport Comissioners urging local Airports, citing the above info, and ask them to set policy use Bio-Fuels to the max!)

Since the 1950's air travel has changed from being a rare experience to something that is now so common place that many people now view it as one more means of commuting! Somehow, most of us seem to have come to believe that if we have the money, we have the right to do it. This attitude needs to change. Planet earth will heal itself. The question humanity needs to ask itself is whether or not we wish to be part of the solution, or part of the problem. We choose the latter at our peril. Learn more about My Greening Vision on my website: http://web.ncf.ca/leonardo7/index.htm

Mr.Freeman!!
surprise!! I mean your haircut. looks nice

Wow, I love trip and someday I should go along with u.
I've enjoyed your video clip~ have a nice day

Thanks for the great comments and extra information.

I posted some figures for calculating carbon emissions over on my website at www.exitnotebook.com

It's very difficult to get an exact calculation but you can get rough estimates of emissions per kilometer.

As for calculating how much Major League Baseball produces, it would be possible if you went through the schedule. I posted the mileage stats for the Boeing 747 but most short-haul flights use smaller planes like the 737.

However, it's not really possible for baseball teams to play each other if they don't fly between cities.

The area where pressure could really be effective is business. Businesses have the most to gain from flying less. A large portion of short-haul travelers are business people and a lot of that business could be done using available video conferencing technology and the Internet. There would be significant savings for companies in terms of cash and probably productivity as well.

Hey Mark, like your video a lot. I'm planning on going to France from Alberta, Canada this summer to do some organic farming (and to improve my french), do you have any suggestions for how to get across the atlantic via sea??

Cheers,
Justin

Hey Justin, to get across the Atlantic, I'm going to take a freighter. You can check out http://www.freighter-travel.com/ or do a search on google and a bunch of travel agents specialising in freighter travel will pop up. I haven't booked my freighter tickets yet, so let me know how it goes if you can.
Have a great trip over to France and happy farming!

hi Mr.Freeman-
Nice hair cut ^-^
hope u hav a nice trip around the world-
it sorta shocks me that i've never heard of or imagined freighter travel...
myb that's another part of airline PR projects k.

MARK!!!!!
Long time no see!~~~
You got a haircut^^
well.. you still look good~
WE really miss ya~
Hope you will end your
planeless trip safely~~
and visit us!!!
Good LUCK!!

There is another fact that makes flying in airplane the worst for the enviroment, wich is that all the gases emited go straight to the atmosphere;up in the sky there are no plants that can absorbe in any fraction the carbon dioxide among other pollution;as I'm saying this, I'm watching that another train in France has broken a record speed:357 miles ph!,imagine that we could be using a similar kind of efficiency in transportation here in America where we had once better train sistems all over the country.
Not to mention the fastest train (levitation)in Japan (wich is like Flying)

Hey where r u now?

we r busy studying (as usual) midterm and APs.

Time flies and i mean it.

I miss you Mr Freeman take care, good luck and may the force be with you

Truly yours
Sugjoo

p.s.
I caught no cold or respiratory illness this year so far. Maybe it's because of you reducing carbon dioxide Thanks Mark

please feel free to enter your video at www.scenewon.com. global warming video competition with $20k in prizes voted by audience.

Bicycling Science reports that a bicycle is the most efficient way to move people except ship steerage. However, unless the riders are vegetarians eating organically on local foods, their actual oil use may exceed that of a moped rider. Mopeds are about tied with diesel commuter trains, which might be equalled by the best modern cars with all seats full.