WRTG 3030 course blog post assignment · 16 June 2026

1,844 private flights arrived in attendance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, creating an event footprint of 14.7 kilotons of CO2. One of the most prestigious global climate summits, the COP28 in Dubai, brought in 291 private flights, releasing 3.8 kilotons of CO2 into the atmosphere while wealthy individuals deliberated on how to minimize the greenhouse gas emissions of our civilization, that’s funny.

Most people have a general understanding that climate change is bad, and the world is on fire and all of the scary talk around greenhouse gases, but they might not know what or even who is contributing to this disaster scenario the most?

Jet fuel is one of the greatest contributors to the climate change issue. On one commercial passenger-carrying flight, each traveler emits approximately 0.3 lbs per mile of flight. This means that the estimated emissions of the flight from Los Angeles to New York City carrying around four hundred passengers will emit around 300,000 pounds of CO2. When released directly into the atmosphere at the altitude planes fly at, that is equivalent to burning through 600,000 pounds of coal. Now that should scare you, and you should think that is a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. On top of this damage, private aviation exacerbates this issue to new levels.

Private flying has become the ultimate status symbol for the upper class. Wealth-X data and intelligence firm estimates hundreds of thousands of wealthy celebrities and public figures fly private regularly across the globe. The private lifestyle could be to avoid airports with long waits, going through security, or even being recognized in public spaces too frequently. While the private flight portion of the transportation sector's emissions is quite small, its impact is unnecessary. Daniel Sitompul, ICCT Aviation Researcher, stated that “a typical private jet emits as many GHGs each year as 177 passenger cars.” All that matters is that it is destructive to the rest of us.

The ethical implications get worse when looking at the flight paths of the travelers. Private aviation makes a divide between the individuals who generate extreme pollution and the working-class populations that suffer the ecological consequences.

An analysis of flight data from prominent public figures reveals a blatant disregard for environmental constraints, with private jets often used for short trips that could easily be covered by standard ground transportation. Data shows that several tracked flights covered distances as short as eight to twelve miles. Using an entire aircraft to travel a distance that could be driven in fifteen minutes (without traffic) shows an outrageous disparity in resource consumption. High-profile examples, such as public tracking of star Taylor Swift's private flights throughout 2023, underscore a culture of excess that is truly astounding to observe. Taylor’s stats from that year are as follows: 178,000 traveled miles stretched over 170 flights and an emission of around 1,300 tons of CO2 gas. That emission is 83 times the average American's. Other celebrities with over 50 times the emissions of the regular person include Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather, and Oprah Winfrey just to name a few. This may seem impossible, and it sounds as though this data has to be dug for relentlessly, these records come from simple flight path tracking sites.

The center of this ecological and ethical issue is in the extreme engineering inefficiency per passenger mile. When a commercial airliner flies from Los Angeles to New York, the fuel burn is distributed across hundreds of passengers. When a light or midsize private jet covers the exact same ground, the entire fuel burn is dedicated to a single individual or a small entourage.

Dan Rutherford, the International Council on Clean Transportation Senior Director of Research, pointed out in an article he wrote on this issue that wealth inequalities are growing at a rapid rate. This begs the question of why these wealthy individuals are not being taxed for their pollution caused by their convenience. “Given the slow pace of technological progress, it's reasonable to charge ultrawealthy travelers more for their pollution.” This ideology is not groundbreaking, for years people have argued that these individuals of interest can and should be charged more for the infrastructure only they can afford to indulge in.

Solving the crises of private flight cannot rely on selfless changes. Since the elite are rarely swayed by social pressure, the problem must be solved through aerospace engineering and changing energy policy. While completely electrified aircraft or hydrogen propulsion systems offer promising zero-emission frameworks, they face immense engineering walls. Medium- and long-haul flights require a significantly higher energy density than what current lithium-ion battery technology simply cannot provide without making the aircraft too heavy. The most attainable and architecturally viable alternative is Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs). SAFs are derived from non-fossil feedstocks such as agricultural waste, used cooking oils, and municipal solid waste. They can be utilized directly in existing jet engines and airport fuel stations without requiring incredibly expensive modifications to aerospace architecture.

SAFs are a groundbreaking discovery, and their utility cannot be overstated because of their extremely low carbon footprint and reusability cycle. However, there just is not enough funding for research and development for this potential to be realized. Currently, they only account for one percent of the world’s aviation fuel consumption. This does show that solutions are on the horizon; we just need help from those who contribute so much to the issue to step in and care for our home as much as we all should.

Short Story · 27 June 2026

Walking outside in the summertime, they went across the park to the spot they had gone so many times before. The blistering heat beating down on his backwards cap and her curly dark hair. The backpack leaving sweat marks on her back and the weight of the basket slowing him down. Just a couple more paces till the shade. Just a couple more paces till the end, little did she know.

At last, with the blanket laid out and the drinks in hand they could relax in each other's company. It did not matter that it was the hottest day of the summer and it would not have mattered if it were the coldest day of the winter. They were together, that was all that mattered.

Some time into this peaceful afternoon amongst the grass he was getting nervous, afraid to tell her the news. As well as he thought he was keeping it together, she knew, of course. To make things easier on him, she asked what was bothering him. This was not unusual, she could always read him like a book. With a deep breath, he finally let out what he had been keeping to himself since he visited the doctor the week before. He was dying, and he did not have enough time left.

It was hot outside, but it was not sweat that streamed down her face. Just a couple more hours left of daylight, just a couple more weeks left together.