The Week Junior UK – 03 August 2019

Nowthatyou’vereadabit moreabout it,tell us whatyouthinkbyvoting in our

poll attheweekjunior.co.uk/polls.VoteYESif youthink that people should stop

flying, orNOif youdon’t.We’ll publish theresultsnextweek.

Whatdoyouthink?

Shouldpeoplestop takingflights?

W

ith schools finished for summer,some people

aregettingready to fly off on their holidays.

However,planes arenot good for the environment.

It is estimated thatcommercial flights (those that

makemoney transporting passengers or goods) are

responsible for around 2.5% of the world’stotal

carbon emissions.Arecentreport says thatcountries

need toreducetheir carbon emissions if theywant

to limit globalwarming. In Sweden,amovement

called Flygskam, which means flight shame, has led

to morepeople in thecountry travelling by train.

Some people think othercountries should follow suit.

Others argue that flying is necessary and that other

forms of transport aren’t always practical. So should

everyone stop flying?

Yes–it’sbadforthe planet

Planes producehugeamountsof CO2. Aperson

taking just one flightcanproducemorecarbon

emissions than some people do in an entireyear.

Forexample,areturn flight fromLondon to NewYork

generates 986 kilograms ofCO2per passenger.There

are56countries in the world wherethe average

person will emit less than that inayear. Stopping

flying is one of the biggestways to reduceour carbon

footprint andcombat climate change.Taking planes

isn’t the onlywaytoget around, either.Activist Greta

Thunberg hasn’t been onaplane since2015;instead

she travels across Europe by train. Byrefusing to take

flights, peoplecansend amessage to airlines that

they must makeflying moreenvironmentally friendly.

No–people need to fly

Flying is oneoft he safestways to travel, and

it is often theeasiest waytoget to your destination.

Planes have allowed people toexplorethe world and

see things that they otherwise wouldn’t.Travel is

whatconnects us to other people. Without taking a

flight, peoplecan’t visit new places, see members of

their family,orc onduct important business meetings.

Although other forms of transport areavailable,

they’renot practical for every journey.Ifp eople

stopped flying, then they might drivecars moreoften,

which also emit high levels ofCO2, especially over

longer distances. Besides, making planes better for

the environmentcosts money,but airlines will have

less money if people stop flying.

●Flygskamis Swedishforflight shame.

It is also the name ofanew movement

that is encouraging people to fly less

because of the environmental impact of

planes. Climate activist Greta Thunberg

hasn’t been onaplane since2015.

●Aeroplanesrelease large amounts of

carbon dioxide (CO2) into the Earth’s

atmosphere.CO2emissions arelinked to

climate change, which is the long-term

changes in the world’sweather patterns,

such as rising global temperatures,

caused by human activity.

●Burningfossil fuels (coal, oil and gas),

farming and cutting downfore sts are

all majorcauses of climate change.

Whatyouneedtoknow

Some people say thatfewertripsby

plane will help savethe planet.

LAST WEEK’S POLL

Last week, we asked if you thought it

wasoktostop readingabook halfway

through. Most of you

said yes–you

shouldn’t make

yourselfread

something if

you don’t find

it interesting.

1

Flying is badforthe environment and

contributes to climate change.We should

all stop flying to help protect the planet.

2

Thereare many alternativeforms of transport

–you don’t always have to get onaplane.

3

If people stop flying then it will put pressure

on airlines to makeplanes moresustainable

and environmentally friendly.

1

Flying is one of the safestforms of travel and

without it many people wouldn’t be able to

visit new places or seefamily members.

2

Otherforms of transport, likecars, also

producecarbon and anyway, they aren’t

practicalforevery journey.

3

If we stop flying, then airlines might not have

the money to spend on cleaner air travel.

Threereasons why people should

stop flying on planes

Threereasons why people shouldn’t

stop flying on planes

GETTY IMAGES

YES NO

76%

YES

24%

NO

8

Thebig debate

The Week Junior•3August 2019

The aim of the Big debatepage isto present two sides of an issuefairly and

objectively,ino rder to stimulatediscussion and allow ourreadersto makeuptheir

minds. The views on the page do notreflect those ofThe Week Junior,and the page

is no tfundedby thirdparties. The page is createdinassociation

with the English-Speaking Union, an educational charity helping

young people discovertheir voiceand realise their full

potential.Formoreinformation, please see esu.org

UP IN

THE AIR

Airpass

engers ar

eexpect

ed

toflyat

otal dis

tance

of8.1trillion kilometres in

201 9.Th

is is up 300%

from 1990.