the new age of space tourism has been another giant leap for greenhouse gas pollution even the water vapor released by william shatner's ride with blue origin can result in global warming when it's released into the upper atmosphere virgin galactic and soon spacex release huge amounts of carbon dioxide too all to give the privileged few a taste of weightlessness and a spectacular view of the planet it's an indictment on the efforts we're trying to make and you sort of it undermines us making sacrifices here on on earth to make sure that we mitigate the impact that
we're having on the environment and then rich billionaires are flying out into space for very expensive selfies a long-haul air flight typically emits between one and three tons of carbon per passenger a rocket launch can result in between 200 and 300 tons of carbon dioxide or 50 to 75 tons per astronaut but as well as carbon dioxide there are particles chemicals and other polluting gases released into the upper atmosphere where they do more damage they not only trap heat but they trigger a chain reaction that ultimately depletes the ozone layer our protective shield against uv
radiation not all space missions are equal you could argue tourism is a little frivolous but the new space age has brought us a better understanding of our perilous position on earth there's the image of our tiny blue marble that gave liftoff to the environmental movement many more showing the astonishingly thin band of the atmosphere protecting us from the void of space and the observations of shrinking arctic ice that have rung alarm bells there's this notion called the overview effect where people who fly at high altitudes or see the earth from space really have a sort
of changed moment in their lives where you see the fragility of earth hanging in the blackness of space and as we start to see more regular-like folks going to space and experiencing this that it really has the chance to increase our environmental consciousness within the next few months spacex is due to take private astronauts into orbit needing even more rocket fuel to break free of gravity these are early days for the space tourism industry but virgin galactic alone is aiming for 400 flights a year the carbon footprint of billionaires taking the ultimate sightseeing trip is
about to go stratospheric thomas more sky news
