• Climate Change

Airlines to Experiment With Flight Paths to Lower Emissions

• air travel
• airlines
• carbon emissions

As CNN reported, airlines with flights between Europe and North America (one of the busiest global routes) will be allowed to let pilots chart flight paths across skies that have been cleared out by the pandemic with the goal of saving jet fuel and reducing emissions.  The experiment does not have a set end date […]

• Energy

Boeing Commits to Making Airplanes Ready To Fly on 100% Sustainable Fuels

• air travel
• airplanes
• Boeing

by Miro Korenha and Natasha Lasky Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, recently announced that all of its planes will be capable and certified to fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuels by 2030. The move was a response to mounting pressure felt by the aviation industry to reduce emissions and as Boeing explained in a […]

• Climate Change

“Super Emitters” to Blame for Half of Aviation Industry’s Carbon Emissions

• air travel
• airplanes
• aviation
• carbon emissions
• jet fuel

by Natasha Lasky, ODP Contributing Writer  The aviation industry is a major contributor to climate change — it was responsible for 2.5% of global carbon emissions, and in 2018, the total pollutants from commercial aviation drove about 5% of warming globally.  But the majority of this pollution is the result of frequent-flying “super emitters.” A […]

• Weather

Hurricane Force Winds Batter the U.K. and Europe, Planes Set Speed Records From U.S. to U.K.

• air travel
• bomb cyclone
• climate change
• severe storms
• weather

Storm Ciara battered the U.K. and northern Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains Sunday, grounding thousands of flights and canceling trains across the continent, and producing heaving seas that closed down ports — even the English Premier League had to cancel games as authorities urged millions of people to avoid the outdoors due to falling trees and downed power lines.

Why This Matters:  Severe travel disruptions, power outages, coastal flooding and weather damage to cars and property, and yes, even soccer (or football as they say there) games had to be canceled.

• Climate Change

Airplane Contrails the Hidden Climate Culprit

• air travel
• aviation
• climate change
• jets

by Miro Korenha and Alexandra Patel Airplane contrails have long been the subject of a variety of exuberant conspiracy theories, including that of governments spraying toxic chemicals into the air to induce mass sterilization and mind control. Though you shouldn’t pay attention to most of the conspiracy theories, there are real dangers associated with trails […]

• Air

France to Introduce New Tax on Air Travel

• Air France
• air travel
• airline
• aviation
• flying
• France

Starting in 2020, France will begin to introduce a new “ecotax” on air travel. The new charge, costing approximately $2 to $20 for every flight departing the country, will be used to generate revenue for more environmentally-friendly modes of transportation, such as rail.  Why This Matters: While this tax probably won’t stop people from flying […]