As a planet, we have the potential to be a very clean, high quality society, full of “green” solutions to Earth’s environmental problems. Sadly, we have the mindset of keeping things the way they are, because we are comfortable as is. The problem is that if we keep things the way they are, we would be headed straight for disaster, and the road to disaster doesn’t have a speed limit. What are the miraculous solutions to our planets problems? There is a single key thing that is a huge problem and could be changed when It comes to the global warming: air travel.

Airplanes, as a whole, cause more carbon emissions damage than any other forms of transportation. Kerosene, the fuel used to power these machines, is particularly damaging and does not have tax charges, giving airtravel companies no incentive of limiting their usage. The world’s 16,000 commercial airplanes produce more than 600 million tons of CO2 annually. That’s a sufficient number, almost the size of the African continent!

My ideal solution to a cleaner, and less expensive way of flight is simple, and old school, but usually thought over and unseen as a possibility. Blimps, in a nutshell, are motorized hot air balloon that can be steered. Blimps offer a tiny, inconsiderable amount of emissions compared to jet planes, and zero emissions if they are powered by solar power. Thanks to the Hindenburg incident, however, the commercial air travel moved to jet aircraft instead.

On May 6th, 1937 the Hindenburg blimp caught fire and crashed to the ground. Thirteen passengers, Twenty two crewmembers, and one ground crew were killed in the fatal crash, Thirty six deaths in total out of the ninety-seven persons in the air ship. The terrible disaster scared everyone out of blimps, and the blimp industry crashed and burned much like the Hindenburg itself.

The blimp industry may be grounded for the moment, but its been making huge advancements in leisure and safety. The Hindenburg was filled with hydrogen, which is highly explosive and reactive. Now, blimps are filled with helium, a much safer gas, which is much more stable than hydrogen.

Blimps are overall cheaper to run, more useful in carrying cargo, and now safer than airplanes. The obvious choice for our planet’s future way of travel.