By Jewel Middle School, Aurora

Thanks for tackling such an important subject!  This was a very compelling presentation that I think many people can relate to this topic. It’s too bad at we are not able to meet in person as it would have been nice to hear you deliver this presentation.  I am sure you would have explained some of the slides in greater detail. I would enjoy hearing you explain your agreement as you clearly did a lot of research.


One thing I would suggest to improve the presentation to add a hypothesis or agenda/outline in the beginning to explain what you are going to prove by the end.  The Cause & Effect slide started to do that but it isn’t related to airplanes so it wasn’t quite the right fit.  After reviewing your presentation I would say it was: 

• CO2 is bad for a variety of reasons:
• the environment will be altered by melting ice which may lead to land losses and animal extinction. 
• It is also very unhealthy, causing health issues to humans. 
• Planes are a cause of that pollution and therefore we should:
• Have better airplanes like the 777
• Try to fly less to eliminate the pollution they cause. 

I appreciated that you sourced your references on your slides and the pictures were very good.  The slides were really interesting and I would have enjoyed talking to you about the subject.  Having an outline would have pulled it all together a little more for the user and probably made it easier for you to decide what to put in the presentation and what to keep out.

Slide #5:  explains what airplane emissions are. Be careful about phrases like “the worst” and say things more like “one of the worst”. Science is evolving and definitive statements don’t leave room for change due to observation and conclusions of new data. 

I particularly liked the honesty in “slide 18:  My input”.  You draw logical conclusions but admit you do not have 1^st hand experience. That is important for a researcher.  I also found “Slide 19:  What you can do” & “Slide 20: Conclusion”  to be well stated and compelling reasons for people to change their behavior and you suggest alternative options. 

Overall:  Great subject that we should all be addressing and thinking about regularly. Thank you.

It’s a pity that we couldn’t hear you deliver the presentation in person but you did a great job putting the slides together! The presentation is well structured and easy to follow. Well done!

I like your suggestion at the end that people should consider different travel options so to reduce carbon emission, and I wonder some factors such as distance, size of vehicle also play critical roles in making this important decision. For example, if one person is traveling from Chicago to New York, will commercial flight be a better option versus driving by himself/herself in a SUV? It would be interesting to know!

I also like your recommendation ‘not to use private jet’! I don’t have any private jet, but next time when a celebrity speaks for the planet, it’s a good idea to ask when was his/her last time fly in a private jet!