• wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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    10 days ago

    I can’t seem to find the post that had the chart because Lemmy’s search function is ass, but I found this one that’s similar:

    The one I was thinking of listed different types of rail, and a couple of them were more polluting than airliners.

    Don’t get me wrong, I love trains and most of them are among the lowest-emitting options. But the notion that commercial airlines are the most polluting seems to be a misconception on a per-passenger basis. Private jets, maybe, because they have fewer passengers.

    • Jtotheb@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      Lemmy’s search function is disappointing, yeah. Carrying on a long tradition of worthless forum search functions I suppose. I envisioned a world where everybody adopted Google’s late 2000s-early ‘10s algorithm but instead even Google has sworn off of it.

      I replied to the other comment first because I can’t actually get your media to load. What domain is this? I think it’s an issue with my client because I encounter this frequently in a few communities.

      Yes, American rail in particular is… bad. I think the romance of the notion of rail transit is doing a lot of the heavy lifting stateside. So are the new ICE cars, as I stated in my other reply. The new European and Asian models on the other hand should be winning out on efficiency easily, as would their trains, and all hybrids and EVs. Air travel may rank decently in carbon efficiency in the U.S., but I don’t think that remains true elsewhere, where transit industries have been allowed/incentivized/required to improve.

      • wonderingwanderer@sopuli.xyz
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        10 days ago

        Ah fuck, on second glance it won’t load on my end either. I just copied the link from this post:

        https://sopuli.xyz/comment/22812246

        It’s not the original one I was thinking of, but it’s similar. Also, I ignored short haul flights because who the fuck flies somewhere they can take a bus to in less than a day?

        • Jtotheb@lemmy.world
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          9 days ago

          A lot of people! Check out the flight distance distribution charted here. (old, 2009-ish data) Big part of the problem. Having to be “on” the whole time while you’re driving isn’t freedom, it sucks. It’s why people want trains. And in their absence they fly.