To the editor:

Taylor Swift, as an expression of their romantic relationship, flew in a private jet from Japan to watch Travis Kelce play football. Now Kelce flies in a private jet across the globe to see her perform. Are Travis and Taylor contributing to global warming with the CO2 produced by their airplanes? Well, yes, though the effect as a percentage is small. On the other hand, what is the effect of a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable for all of us to fly around the world purely for pleasure?

A few years ago we had the notion to visit Spain. Spain seems a dramatic and romantic country — great painters, fascinating history, wine, food, flamenco. I learned that our share of the CO2 produced in flying there would be about 6 metric tons. In 2022 over 27 million American tourists from the U.S. flew to Europe. When you add in all the other tourists flying around the world and multiply by 6 tons of CO2 you get a very big number! Air travel contributes 2.5 to 3.5% of world production of CO2. If aviation were a country, out of 195 it would be the world’s sixth-biggest emitter.

If/when conditions get really bad, do you think people will be able to fly as freely as we do now? Why are we leaving that prospect to our grandchildren? We at least need to include climate impact when we consider an optional trip.

Joe Douglas,

Lawrence