I grew up in a family that flew. Both of my parents were pilots. My father earned his pilot’s license before World War II and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a service pilot. Much of his service time was spent instructing new pilots. He also flew executive flights for Army officers who needed to travel. After VJ day, he flew aircraft returning from the war from their arrival at California seaports to a boneyard in Arizona. On one of those flights, the engine in the plane he was flying failed, and he was forced to bail out. He was injured in that incident and was awarded the Purple Heart as a result. After his time in the army, he utilized his G.I. benefits to earn additional aviation-related certifications, including his airframe and engine mechanic licenses. He was a certified instructor and instrument instructor. He and my mother set up their business in a small town that had an airstrip, but no services. They sold aviation fuel and established an air charter and air ambulance service. They taught new pilots to fly and sold airplanes. My father flew spray planes that applied agricultural chemicals. They also provided a variety of aviation services to the National Park Service and the Forest Service, including fire patrol, game counts, search and rescue operations, and executive travel.

I flew my first solo flight as soon as I was old enough and earned my private pilot’s license as soon as I was eligible. I rented an aircraft for private flying early in my career as a minister, and later, we had partial ownership of an airplane, first with three partners and then with four partners. When we sold our portion of that partnership, I decided that I wasn’t flying enough to be a safe pilot. One of the barriers was cost. Our family had different priorities. Since that time, I have not been current and have not flown as a pilot in command. I do not have a valid medical certificate and am not qualified to fly.

However, I enjoy airplanes and discussing them with other pilots. I read several online journals about flying, aircraft, accident reports, and pilot safety. As a result of the various websites I visit, the algorithms on these sites result in some interesting pop-up ads appearing on my browser. One that I frequently see touts the low price of chartering a private jet. The algorithm doesn’t seem to know that, despite my online reading, I don't have the money to charter a jet. I haven’t followed those links, but I know that the cost is more than I am willing to pay. I make a few trips by airline each year. I used to travel more, serving as an educational consultant for the church, and I still occasionally make trips related to church service. My main reason to fly is to visit our daughter and family. They live in South Carolina.

Airline travel generates significant carbon dioxide emissions and contributes to global warming. I am aware of my carbon footprint and its effect on the environment. One of the ways I attempt to offset the impact of airline travel is by planting trees, powering our home with a solar energy system, and reducing my travel in our car.

My carbon footprint, however, is minuscule compared to that of wealthy individuals who frequently use private jets for travel. There is a traveling elite with enormous carbon footprints. Less than one percent of the population is responsible for 50 percent of global aviation emissions. It may be more accurate to refer to this group as the polluting elite.

In 2023, a high school student in Seattle created a website called Climate Jets. Akash Shendure’s website shows the estimated 2022 carbon emissions of dozens of private jets. He used information available online to track the travel patterns of people who frequently fly by private jet. He combined data about the specific types of aircraft used, the number of flights, and the distances traveled. One of the motivations for the website was his hope to raise awareness about the disparity in emissions between the ultra-rich and average Americans.

We Americans are among the world’s highest emitters of greenhouse gases. The average American emits approximately 15.52 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The Climate Jets website compares the emissions of those who use private jets—according to the website, Thomas Siebel, founder of Siebel Systems, which was sold to Oracle in 2006 for $5.8 billion, and who went on to found C3ai, an artificial intelligence software platform, traveled 458 flights in 3 aircraft in 2022. Those jets used 476,898 gallons of jet fuel on his trips, emitting 4,649.75 metric tons of carbon dioxide. His private aircraft emissions exceeded the full carbon emissions of 299 average Americans.

Some of the people whose travel and carbon emissions are reported on the website do participate in a system of carbon offsets and make contributions to environmental organizations. However, the fact remains that travel by private jet is a significant contributor to the climate crisis.

Like others, I grew up expecting to travel. My family loved experiencing the world and connecting with people from other places. One of the reasons I travel is that I love to experience the natural world. I want to see beautiful areas that are not often visited. However, our desire to travel frequently destroys the beauty we seek to experience. Our current trajectory is to reach two degrees of global warming by 2050. Two degrees doesn’t sound like much, but it would mean 99% of all coral reefs are dead, rainforests turned to savannah, more than 700 million climate refugees in Africa alone, with no accurate estimates available of global climate refugees.

The decisions we make about travel now will significantly impact the long-term future of the world. I don’t think that those who travel by private jet intend to decimate the natural world. I believe they want to have a beautiful world for their grandchildren. That beautiful world, however, is going to require that they travel less and pay more for carbon capture technology. Cutting their taxes and allowing them additional money to travel more won’t help them achieve the goal of a sustainable future for those who come after them.