Halper, Evan. “Is climate-friendly flying possible? Biden administration places a big wager.” The Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/12/15/aviation-climate-biden-tax-credits/ Accessed 27 Jan. 2024.
The Biden administration released a new framework for achieving the goal of making jet travel more climate-friendly. They plan to convert some cropland to be used for producing materials for sustainable jet fuel. They would plan to make this fuel from soybeans or modify conventional ethanol. Sadly, sustainable jet fuel accounts for less than 1% of je fuel burned in the world. Previous sustainable fuels were made with animal fats or french fry grease.
I think that the Biden administration is taking a step in the right direction. The plan to ramp up the production of sustainable fuels could benefit both the aviation and the automotive industries. The only problem is the need for more deforestation to make up for the cropland lost to fuel production. The rest of the world should start to think about possibly following the same idea of creating plant-based aviation fuels. Overall, I think that everyone should work together to solve this problem.
I think the Biden administration’s initiative to promote climate-friendly flying by investing in sustainable jet fuel production is a good idea, but your concern about potential deforestation to compensate for the cropland converted for fuel production raises an important point. While shifting towards plant-based aviation fuels is a positive step, it’s crucial to ensure that it doesn’t inadvertently contribute to environmental degradation in other areas, like deforestation. Do you think there are alternative approaches or additional measures the administration could implement to mitigate the environmental impact of increasing sustainable fuel production? Additionally, how do you think international cooperation playing a role in addressing the environmental challenges associated with aviation would work?
This was very interesting to read about. I liked your recognition of how transitioning to plant-based aviation fuels presents a promising avenue for reducing carbon emissions in the aviation sector, which is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Expanding on your point about global cooperation, how do you think international collaboration can be fostered to promote the widespread adoption of sustainable aviation fuels?
I was very intrigued by this topic. I like how you were able to show the bright future that is possible for the aviation and automobile industries. I see the problem that could be created by needing more cropland but I believe that getting the cropland to help achieve Biden’s goal will be worth it. Do you think that it would be worth it to cut down trees to create more cropland? Or do you have any other ideas as to how they could not hurt the environment?
I agree this is a very cool thing that the Biden administration has brought up. I would not have thought food could be turned in jet fuel. Given jet fuel accoutns for so much pollution we need to take action to make it sustainble. Do you think instead they should put more effort into electric jets?