The segment on VTOLs (flying cars) was a fail on several levels. For one, in comparing efficiencies, they assumed the car would have 1.5 poeple in it, and the flying car would be full to capacity.
Indeed. Jay was talking about how they're more efficient if you pack them full and travel large distances, i.e. so that you travel in the most optimal way for the most amount of time. Which is how air travel in general has become more efficient, compared to (one type of) personal transportation on the ground. More people in the same space. Traveling by yourself in a car is not necessarily better than being stuffed inside a tube in the sky.
Of course, flying is still far less efficient than if you do the same thing, stuffing people into a series of tubes, on the ground. They could've mentioned more than just the two examples of transportation.
But getting a significant percentage of drivers off the road and into the sky is a pipe dream.
To be honest, I'd hate it if people started flying everywhere instead of being confined to the road system, especially if it meant randomly but frequently flying over areas far away from traditional traffic.
I'm already opposed to helicopter traffic becoming more common. They're too much of a disturbance to be justified, unless there's a significant need for them. There's some guy in Norway who wants to fly helicopters to chop ice off of a glacier to sell "luxury ice cubes". I don't think I've heard of a more inefficient way to accomplish something that can be made easily and cheaply available at home. At the very least there should be a 1000% luxury tax. Make sure that the stupidly rich contribute to public budgets if they have money to throw away like that.
We don't need people to spread out more, we need people to learn to love where they live, love their neighborhood, or to move to where they want to be.
Build more rails for freight, electrify boats and optimize transportation across oceans, even if it means slower delivery. If some things don't last long enough for it, then stop shipping it, stop using it or start producing it closer. And stop expanding airports. As much as we need to eat less meat, we need less tourism. But instead, airports and governments are expecting and investing in increasing traffic.
As Cara pointed out with plastics, it's not just about the GHG emissions.
Tourists are literally killing animals to take pictures with them, and cause direct damage in addition to the impact on the climate. At least plastics have a purpose and also help reduce waste. Luxury travel becomes increasingly pointless as we improve our ability to experience the world remotely (and can do more things with technology in general). People travel the world to take photos to share online, and spend a lot of time looking at screens, and there's no difference between you producing the photos vs. you looking at the photos someone who lives there took and published. Or you could hire a local photographer to get the exact shots and footage you want, if it's that important.
If people took more of an interest in their own neighborhood, they could both enjoy it and take the time to learn how to preserve it for themselves, and for their kids and community.
