You are right. Global warming will affect the airlines. In fact it already has:
Remember that snowstorm that Denver had right before Christmas. Got 3 feet of snow and closed Denver International Airport for 3 days. What do you think that cost United?? The world's second largest airline, at their second largest hub, on just a few days before Christmas (one of the busiest travel periods of the year). FOR THREE DAYS!! How about Frontier? How about EVERY other airline that flies into Denver. I talked with people who lived in Colorado for 60 years, and they had never seen a winter as funny as this year. And the airlines paid for it.
How about all those storms back east in February. How much did that cost the airlines? American, United, Delta, Continental, Jetblue... I have seen the most abysmal ontime rates and completion factors in quite a while. Do you think weather has something to do with this??????
WEATHER has a phenominal affect on the airline industry. Cloudly/foggy, windy, rain, snow, ice, thunderstorms, hurricanes... what does all this do to air travel. Holding patterns, diverts, delays, delays, more delays...
Remember, $3 TRILLION dollars of our economy is dependent upon the weather! If global warming continues, airlines will suffer.
Now, as far as I know, air travel only contributes something like 2% of the worldwide pollution. It is probably less. It is not that much. If they are coming after airlines, they are being dumb. But how about automobiles. How about power plants. Those contribute MUCH MORE to global warming.
I am being vocal about global warming for two big reasons. For one, I like the planet. I like the outdoors. I like the environment in which I currently live. I am only 22, and I am going to live for many more years. I don't want to see it damaged. The other is I believe that much of global warming can be solved if we just invest in technology. There is NO REASON why we can't have 100% electric cars other than we have not spend enough money researching. A little advancement in solar cell efficiency, and we could generate all the electricity we need for cars. Slight advancements in battery technology are also needed. We just need to invest the money.
We spend $533 BILLION dollars a year on defense.
We use something like 7.3 BILLION barrels of oil a year. At $60 a barrels, that is over $400 BILLION dollars a year. And where does that money go. Who are the top ten oil producers?
1. Saudi Arabia
2. Canada
3. Iran
4. Iraq
5. Kuwait
6. United Arab Emirates
7. Venezuela
8. Russia
9. Libya
10. Nigeria
Gee, how do we feel about those nations. Better question, how many of those nations are sworn enemies of the United States? And yet we are sending them HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars a year. It is downright crazy!!!!!
Oh ya, do you see a resembalence between these nations and the type of people who plotted 9/11?? What did that COST the airlines???
Fixing global warming is going to do so much more than fix the environment. It is going to fix the fact that we are sending HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars to countries that hate us. And not to mention sending money to people who used airliners in an attack on our nation, and caused the single greatest downturn in aviation history. Oh ya, and lets not forget about all the problems crazy weather can cause this industry.