Explain why you think the airplane has changed our lives. Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Flying has been a dream of human kind ever since. The airplane is thus one of the greatest inventions, which changed our lives significantly – in a good and a bad way. The airplane made our world smaller in the sense that traveling thousands of kilometers even over oceans is now possible within a day. Thus, it is nowadays possible to visit people and places all over the world. For my grandmother a typical vacation was spend somewhere in Germany or maybe a neighboring country but for her it was never even imaginable to travel to other continents. Traveling to other countries gives us the possibility to improve our language skills, to see the world from a different perspective and to discover beautiful places. But not only for vacations the invention of the airplane had a big effect. Business and politics have also been effected in a positive way. For some decisions or issues, it is necessary to meet in person. Take for example the G7 meetings or the world climate conferences, which could only take place because the members were able to meet in person. Without the airplane, it would take too much time for every participant in the meeting to arrive at the location. However, the mention of the world climate conferences in context with positive effects of the airplane is quite paradox. Since travelling with the airplane emerges a lot of CO_2 it has a negative effect on the climate. Furthermore, it also leads to a destruction of nature. For example, tourists now crowd untouched beaches or rainforests because the airplane makes them approachable. Another negative effect of the airplane is that it widens the gap between the rich and the poor. While the above-described privileged people are able to jet around the world, make vacation and make their business flourish, poorer people are not able to do so. This is especially critical because the negative influences of air travel concern all of us and not just wealthy people. Even more, poorer countries suffer more under the climate change than wealthier do. So in conclusion let me say, that the invention and commercialization of the airplane had a big impact on many people. But whether those effects are rather positive or negative highly depends on each person and how well they are situated financially.