November 25, 2008

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

What's the best way to get home for the holidays?

SUBSCRIBE TO 60-Second Earth

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

[Below is the original script. But a few changes may have been made during the recording of this audio podcast.]

Going home for Thanksgiving is a time-honored American tradition—and one that exemplifies the environmental burden created by all our hectic traveling. We spewed more than 2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from our trains, planes and automobiles in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

I love my beat up old junker of a car, but at 30 miles-per-gallon, I'm not doing the atmosphere any favors. Turning to ethanol or biodiesel doesn’t help much, given that those fuels from crops mean less food: hardly in keeping with the Thanksgiving tradition.

Another type of biofuel, however, may be the only hope for reining in airplane emissions. Whether made from shrubs like jatropha or, even better, algae that can thrive on dirty water, bio-kerosene is being tested by everyone from the U.S. Air Force to Air New Zealand, as well as jet engine-makers Boeing and Rolls Royce.

So the best existing transportation option is an old-fashioned one: trains. Not only have trains been hybrid since before it was cool (i.e. the 1950s) they carry a lot more passengers for every gallon of diesel burned. So if you have a choiceamong planes, trains and automobiles...chugga chugga choo choo!

[Producer's note: please listen to actual podcast for proper sound effects.]

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

60-Second Earth is a weekly podcast from Scientific American. Subscribe to this Podcast: RSS | iTunes

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American