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Having friends is great. You can play ping-pong, tennis or even eat a really big sandwich together. Having friends is also great for the environment. Living with another person reduces your per capita energy usage and carpooling reduces both stress and gasoline use. You can also reduce your CO2 emissions by trotting the globe with a friend or two.
Paul Clifton at BBC Hampshire talked with Dr Kenji Takeda, a researcher at the University of South Hamptom. Dr. Takeda's research indicates that people traveling in groups significantly reduces their travel emissions. Here are the numbers.
Source: BBC Hampshire
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CO2 Emissions for one person Rail (CrossCountry): 74 g/pax.km Air (Flybe): 81 g/pax.km Car (Prius):104 g/pax.km Car (Range Rove)r: 299 g/pax.km CO2 emissions for four people Arriva CrossCountry Voyager |
As you can see, the emission numbers get higher as the amount of people increase, but they do not double for each passenger. Driving a car actually decreases emissions as passengers increase. Trains and airplanes are rated by load factor. Trains are usually only half full, whereas airplanes are 4/5 full. This makes airplanes seem competitive emission-wise. If the train was 80% full and the plane where 50% full, airplanes would be a downright carbon nightmare.
These emissions numbers are all well and good, but here are a few other ecological benefits of traveling with a friend.
- A shared room means shared electricity.
- Sharing a cab or a rental car.
- Sharing gear. (Reduced packing weight)
You won't be lonely either.
More on Eco-Friendly Travel
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