Of Obscenity

This is a rather amazing story – Plane flies 5 passengers from US to London.

What I find more amazing, however, is how a certain group of people are kicking up such a big fuss over it. Yes, the 777 flew virtually empty, with 5 passengers, from the US to London. Yes, it used 22,000 gallons of fuel in the process.

But where is this in the big picture?

The plane wasted a lot of fuel and that is bad – but I dare say – that on average for any time period, and by proportion of total fuel consumed to fuel wasted – the ratio of virtually empty buses every single day that simply have to meet schedules, and virtually empty personal cars, waste more fuel than a one-in-a-million case of a virtually empty plane. Let’s say in one day, there are 1,000 flights – and 1 of these is virtually empty. That makes, in total, 0.1% of aviation fuel wasted. But there are thousands, maybe millions, more buses and cars that are virtually empty in one day – as a percentage of total diesel/gasoline consumed, the figure wasted is? I leave you to figure out that figure, which I’m sure you can.

The plane had a schedule to meet and a full load of passengers to pick up on the other end. Buses have a schedule to meet too and maybe a full load of passengers to pick up. Do we now lobby against virtually empty buses during nonpeak hours? Stop them from operating?

And how about virtually empty cars, that these “green” people are perhaps guilty of driving themselves?

Friends of the Earth said it was “obscene” to waste so much fuel flying an almost empty plane and called for governments to stop granting the aviation industry the unfair privileges that allow that to happen by taxing aviation fuel and including emissions from aviation in international agreements to tackle climate change.

I think it is also obscene to waste people’s time, energy and attention on this trivial occurence when the big picture is considered; an obscene waste of headline space and an obscene waste of attention. When the big picture is considered, shall we now call for governments to raise taxes so high on automobiles to ensure that every time one moves, it is filled to capacity?

What obscenity.

P.S.: In a separate trend, which is just my opinion, I have noticed that it is the minority or fringe groups that make the most noise. Mostly unworthy noise.