What's the most eco-friendly way to travel from Spokane to Seattle?
Transportation accounts for 27 percent of nationwide emissions, with personal vehicle trips creating well over half of that impact.
According to a report by the Congressional Budget Office, here's how many pounds of carbon dioxide each method of transportation emits on average per passenger-mile, or one person traveling one mile:
Personal vehicles: 0.47 pounds
Buses: 0.39 pounds
Airplanes: 0.34 pounds
Passenger trains: 0.30 pounds
The actual emissions vary widely. For instance, the report notes that transit buses holding only a fraction of their capacity average 0.95 pounds of CO2 per passenger-mile, while intercity buses average 0.15 pounds of CO2 per passenger-mile. Popular cars ranged from 0.60 pounds of CO2 per vehicle mile to 1.18 pounds for pickup trucks.
There currently aren't any studies detailing the carbon emissions for a trip from Spokane to Seattle, according to Jonathan Olds, environmental program manager at the Washington State Department of Transportation. He says using the national data to draw conclusions will be relatively accurate, but factors may vary, such as how an airplane's cruising altitude affects its emissions.
A trip from Spokane to Seattle is approximately 279 miles when traveling on I-90. Based on the national data, a solo one-way trip to Seattle would emit about 131 to 167 pounds of CO2 by car, about 42 to 109 pounds when taking a bus, or about 84 pounds by train.
According to Google Flights, which calculates carbon emissions that vary by type of plane, a flight from Spokane to Seattle emits between about 105 and 170 pounds of CO2.
"We tend to travel in the way that we perceive as the easiest," Olds says. "If people want to invest in more choices, then we'll see a change." ♦
