this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
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As a starting point, the burning of fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent deforestation and release of methane are responsible for the warming in recent decades: Graph of temperature as observed with significant warming, and simulated without added greenhouse gases and other anthropogentic changes, which shows no significant warming

How much each change to the atmosphere has warmed the world: IPCC AR6 Figure 2 - Thee bar charts: first chart: how much each gas has warmed the world. About 1C of total warming. Second chart: about 1.5C of total warming from well-mixed greenhouse gases, offset by 0.4C of cooling from aerosols and negligible influence from changes to solar output, volcanoes, and internal variability. Third chart: about 1.25C of warming from CO2, 0.5C from methane, and a bunch more in small quantities from other gases. About 0.5C of cooling with large error bars from SO2.

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Trains Are Cleaner Than Planes, Right? The surprising carbon footprint of an Amtrak trip across America. (www.nytimes.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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The big difference is of course that you can electrify trains, as has happened in much of Europe and Asia, but not for most of Amtrak

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (6 children)

tldr: The article is about a specific case that involves old trains + lots of space per passenger + very long distance + diesel engine.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, which is what you get in the US. Very different in Europe, where distances are shorter, passengers are packed tightly, and the trains are often electrified.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago

Just to note, this doesn't apply to every journey, only the really long distance ones.

Amtrak is still the more climate-friendly option for the vast majority of travelers, who on average travel 300 to 400 miles, said Olivia Irvin, a spokeswoman for the rail company. (That is, not many people are crazy enough to go cross-country by train.) A 2022 Department of Transportation study found that traveling by train from Los Angeles to San Diego generated less than half the emissions, per passenger, of flying, or driving. For Boston to New York, an electrified route, taking the train generated less than a fifth the emissions of flying or driving.

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