Viral Tweet Called Out Private Jet Emissions During Super Bowl Extravaganza
Last year CBS Sports reported that the Super Bowl LVIII on 11 February 2024 was the most-watched Super Bowl of all time, attracting an average of 123.4 million viewers.
But amid all the other Super Bowl spectacle, a tweet took center stage. The short missive, highlighting the stark disparity between the extravagance of private jets flocking to Las Vegas for one football match and the humble efforts of everyday people to combat climate change, like “merely” recycling yogurt cup lids, captured the public’s attention. It immediately went viral, garnering more than 2 million impressions.
WingX, a market intelligence provider, predicted that more private jets would land and depart from Las Vegas airports for last year’s Super Bowl than the 931 that arrived in Glendale, Arizona for the big game in 2023. 525 private jets logged flights out of Vegas after the Super Bowl in 2024, according to Flightradar24.
In an email, Rick Breitenfeldt with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Office of Communications confirms it. “The FAA handled more than 3,800 additional takeoffs and landings and around 500 aircraft were parked at local airports during Super Bowl weekend last year.”
Private Jets Are Costly Luxuries for Owners and the Environment Alike
The exclusivity of private jet travel comes at a steep cost to the environment and the average taxpayer. According to the Institute of Policy’s High Flyers Report, private jets emit at least 10 times more pollutants per passenger than commercial aircraft.
Despite accounting for about one-sixth of all flights monitored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), private jet operators contribute a mere 2% to the taxes that support the FAA’s funding. Astonishingly, private jet ownership comprises just 0.0008% of the global population.
Chuck Collins, director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies and co-author of the report, criticizes this disparity. “Private jet travel by billionaires and the ultrawealthy imposes a tremendous cost on the rest of us,” he states.
Collins advocates for more stringent measures to mitigate these impacts and calls for a fairer approach to addressing the outsized footprint of private aviation. “If we can’t ban private jets, we should at least tax them and require them to pay to offset their environmental damage and subsidies,” he suggests.
The Irony of Individual Efforts
Compared to the above extravaganza, everyday people are willing to take on climate change if they can. A study of 130,000 individuals in 125 countries revealed that 69% of people worldwide are willing to contribute 1% of their income to climate action.
As the conversation around the viral tweet grows, it draws in many examples of personal efforts to be environmentally responsible. Individuals shared their small actions in contrast to the excesses of the wealthy, such as packing lunches to save money or spending 4-6 hours on public transit each week. Another pointed out the irony of being taxed for an old diesel van they barely use despite offsetting its carbon footprint threefold.
These responses highlight a collective effort to make a difference, however small, in the face of large-scale environmental challenges. Each story adds to a chorus of individuals doing what they can, underscoring a shared frustration with the apparent futility of their actions compared to the significant impacts of activities like air travel.
Doom and Gloom Messages Can Be Counterproductive
One individual noted knowing doing their part is right, even if it feels like a drop in the ocean. Another shared how it’s tough to keep trying when others don’t seem to bother, but they still do it because it’s important.
More than 250 researchers published a vast study on 7 February 2024, analyzing the best way to get people to care more and do more about climate change. They tested 11 different ideas on over 59,000 people from 63 countries to see what would increase belief in climate change, support for policies to fight it, willingness to share information, or engage in direct actions like tree planting.
The results showed that these ideas had only a tiny effect, mainly on those who already believed in climate change. Specifically, strategies to make climate change feel immediate and urgent slightly increased belief in its reality by 2.3%.
Efforts to evoke worry or sadness about climate change effectively boosted the willingness to share climate information by 12.1%. However, these strategies did not significantly increase direct participation, with some leading to a decrease in such actions.
It becomes evident that the fight against climate change is multifaceted. Traveling sustainably, staying in eco-friendly accommodations, recycling, using renewable energy, and so on are all part of a big equation. The viral tweet and subsequent messages may serve as a reflection of people’s attitudes and actions toward climate change. It’s not merely a battle of David versus Goliath; it’s much more.
This article was originally published in Media Decision (but written by me).
Emese Maczko is a travel blogger behind Eco Lodges Anywhere. Having explored several destinations around Europe, the US, Indonesia, and Australia, and resided in Germany, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg, Emese possesses a keen understanding of diverse cultures and an appreciation for the beauty of each destination she visits. She advocates for sustainable travel and ecotourism.