A new survey by BC Hydro found that B.C. residents are open to choosing road trips over flying if it means reducing their carbon footprint.

Seventy five per cent of the 800 people surveyed had concerns about the impacts that air travel can have on the environment.

Spokesperson Geoff Hastings says depending on the trip, air travel may emit more emissions per passenger than vehicles.

“Flying Vancouver to Kamloops, you are going to generate about 360kg of carbon dioxide emissions, that’s two people return, and it’s somewhere in the neighbourhood of 165 to 170 litres of gasoline burned equivalent,” he said.

“So if you are driving a Honda Civic that’s four tanks of gas, and it certainly doesn’t take four tanks to get from Vancouver to Kamloops and back.”

Similarly a flight from Vancouver to Seattle would mean 260 kg of CO2 emissions, and Vancouver to Cranbrook would mean 440 kg of CO2 emissions, and Hastings thinks the results are because of the “fly less” movement that originated in Europe.

“People deciding that they are not going to fly, deciding that they are going to stay on the ground, when possible rather than flying because of the emissions generated by air travel,” he noted.

BC Hydro is also encouraging people to switch to electric cars to further bring down emissions.

While a number of BC residents are hesitant to make the switch because of “range anxiety” on long trips, Hastings says most of those fears are misguided.