Flying should be banned permanently - world better off

Flying is a terrible waste of resources. Do you know how much fuel those jets use? TONS. The world would save billions of barrels of oil a year.

Flying has proven to be a major security risk in this new age of terror. Besides the obvious threat of blowing up the plane, there are more horrible things with all this rapid transit of humans all over the world, namely a plague or new virus. It could spread like wildfire due to plane travel. And this threat could be natural or man made.

There used to be ship travel when planes weren't common. Sure ship travel is slower, but at the same time it might do well for the world to go to a slower paced way of life.

Also, no more bombing the hell out of your opponents in war. No, you have to do it the old fashioned way with brutal ground battles for warfare which might cause people to be so horrified by all the increased casualties that they might rethink starting wars from the comfort of pressing buttons from a high flying bomber immune to just about any threat.

And I do admit I am biased because I don't like the idea of flying any longer, and it is not because of any terror threat either but more to a bad flight I had. However, in my opinion the world would probably be better off without plane travel.

burn in hell

it wastes tons of fuel, and you could DIE doing it. In fact the statistics are much greater that you will be killed in your vehicle than in a terrorist attack on an airplane. That's it, back to hoofing it.

how the interstate highway system had screwed up this country in the same way.

too much of a public health hazard, given what they produce that stays on the road (and have flies and other vectors visit).

Wouldn't waste so much fossil fuel. And if helium filled, would not present the danger that even the Hindenburg would have if crashed into a building.

Great way to travel and enjoy your trip. How cool would that be?

Helium is a very finite resource. It is a very expensive gas. It takes a LOT of it to fill up a dirigible.

Ray Bradbury's short story "The Flying Machine" is about an Emperor from China in the year A.D. 400. The action of the story takes place when the Emperor discovers a man has invented a flying machine resembling a beautiful bird. The Emperor demands that the man be put to death because he fears the man's machine. He fears this machine will make him lose all that is beautiful around him if he agrees to accept the beauty of something new. he knows that others will want to start to invent things and that these inventions may not cause beauty as the flying machine, but evil. His last fear is that man will develop a more advanced flying machine and decide to destroy the Great Wall of China. The Emperor seems to suggest that man should use his inventive talents in making things that will not cause any harm. he feels that some inventions should be suppressed to avoid future danger.

Here is a man who has made a certain machine, said the Emperor,
And yet asks us what he has created. He does not know himself.
It is only necessary that he create, without knowing why he has done so,
Or what this thing will do. (Bradbury, 50)

with commercial passenger flights. Emergency flights, etc., would be used when needed. "We' are already bailing out the Airline Industry. Let's just turn it off. We can compensate the employees and still come out ahead.

There was a noticeable clearing of the air over the U.S. when air travel was shut down for just a few days after 9-11. That fuel could be used for more effecient transportation. Epidemics would not be as likely to start. On and on with the benefits. Yep. Fix our railroads! Getting there is half the fun.
Fix our ocean liners....if they can do the job without further killing the oceans. Why, hey, we might try dirigibles again....with helium this time.

Anyway. Really good idea. Would it be tough? You bet. Would it take sacrifice? You bet! But during WWII they had to ask, "Is this trip necessary?" So often, nowadays, it's not. Teleconference, etc. Take a liner to Europe. Slow down, enjoy life. One step toward stopping catastrophic climate change, imo.

short term, which appears to help offset "global warming". So if all airplane travel ended, guess what gets worse...

(It was a bumpy ride). Back then though only the very rich and diplomats flew so there weren't that many airplanes around. Most flight schedules usually only hit a certain city maybe once a week on the route. Most people crossed oceans on ocean liners and trains took everyone around on land. The trains were very nice back then with sleeping accommodations and nice dining and lounge cars.

I of course loved going to sea even if it was in an old rust bucket freighter. The ports of call were exciting and educational. Today, I hate to fly. It's no different than being on a Greyhound bus. The trains are dirty and very utilitarian. You couldn't pay me to go on a cruise these days. It's just not real seafaring.

...I like flying, not in airliners, but in small personal planes.

Can I still do that?

We use it in a well known song. Just a thought.

Hawai'i's tourism economy would essentially disappear, steamship schedules not being what they used to be (and the crossing takes days in any event).

Every community college will have a "Airline Anesthesiology" course, awarding a certificate. Think of all the problems this solves. No in-flight meals, no in-flight movies, no screams as the plane crashes, no complaints about legroom, no need for restrooms, think of it!!

"Fly Northwest! We Have The Best Drugs!!"

:banghead:

:eyes:

:hi:

:yourock:

But thanks for the support!

:)

One works in the Tulsa tower, the other in ARTCC just outside DFW.
:-)

Fuck all those families where members live thousands of miles apart and can't see each other without flying. Families shouldn't move apart anyways. And hey, because you had a bad experience flying its okay to determine for millions of others whether or not they have the choice to fly or not fly.

See, I get a week off per year. My husband gets whatever time he can off at school.

That means that roughly every year, we can take one week-long, or a few multi-day vacations. Perhaps to see our families that live 3,000 miles away. Perhaps to go to Europe. Perhaps Mexico, or to Las Vegas. Just whatever floats our boat at that time.

But thanks to you and your bad flying experience (hint: everyone who has ever flown more than once has a bad flying experience), you're adapting a plan that would squish any notion of a vacation for myself or my husband. See, to drive from WA to the East Coast is at least 4 days if we're going break-neck without any breaks. Then, we get on a boat and it takes another few days to toot across the big blue to Europe. Wow. There goes THAT week. Guess as soon as we hit port, we can just hop back on the boat and tootle back to the US then spend another 4-5 days driving 18 hours a day to get home. Wow! The time flew so fast!

The other day, I was using the internet, and I had a horrible experience---the connection kept going down, pages were running slow--a REAL hassle. THerefore, I propose that we do away with the internet for EVERYONE because of my singular bad experience.