Act 2 – the maths

So, can we really reduce our carbon footprint by driving from Hobart to Darwin?
Yes we can! (with 2 or more people in the car)
Currently aviation travel accounts for 2% of man-made carbon emissions (according to The International Air Transport Association, although it is likely higher than this https://www.iata.org/publications/tracker/june-2018/Pages/corsia.aspx ) but for those of us who fly, it also makes up the largest part of our personal annual carbon footprint.

Lets get down to it – how much carbon does it cost to travel from Hobart to Darwin?
 












Calculations made using www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx
 N.B. I have used many generalisations and averages here.

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Things to note:

• This is a very simplified calculation, it doesn’t take into account how full the plane/train is or if the people travelling weigh 50 or 150kg
• There is no direct HBT-DRW flight and there is a small difference depending on where you change planes (Brisbane 650 Sydney 590 Melbourne 530) because of the differences in cruising time. This calculator also adds radiative forcing to flight emissions.
• Petrol vs diesel makes a difference but it’s less than I thought, so I averaged it. I also don’t know what kind of car we will be able to use so I went with ‘average car’.
• I haven’t factored in the Tasmania to Victoria ferry and I don’t know how the calculator deals with this (I’m still learning lots)

What are our personal concerns?

1. Neither of us have the time to be taking a big jolly across the country
2. We have a tiny $$ budget

GOAL: Whatever the route – our carbon emissions must be < than flying #BirdNerdRoadie