Almost all of the summer and fall “bad air” days since monitoring began were in the last six years, showing that wildfire smoke events in Seattle really are a recent phenomenon. (Kylie Cooper / The Seattle Times) By Danny Westneat Seattle Times columnist When the Spanish flu was pronounced over back in 1918, Seattleites
Our Commitment to Fly Net Zero by 2050
Fly Net Zero is the commitment of airlines to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. At the 77th IATA Annual General Meeting in Boston, USA, on 4 October 2021, a resolution was passed by IATA member airlines committing them to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050. This pledge brings air transport
The Check Box
Introduction One small silver-lining from the pandemic is the broad realization that a great deal of work can now be done as well or even better via Remote Work and Remote Attendance. It saves time and money and improves productivity. It provides increased accessibility for those who find air travel challenging or who simply prefer
PBS Nova: The Great Electric Airplane Race
Can new emission-free electric planes replace our polluting airliners and revolutionize personal transportation in our cities? NOVA takes you for a ride in some impressive prototypes that are already in the air, from speedy single-seat planes that can take off like a helicopter but are half as noisy to “self-flying” air taxis that are already
HB1099-2021
VOX: The scariest thing about global warming (and Covid-19)
The afternoon sky glows red from bushfires exacerbated by climate change near Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales on December 31, 2019.Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images For as long as I’ve followed global warming, advocates and activists have shared a certain faith: When the impacts get really bad, people will act. Maybe
There Is No Sustainable Way to Fly
Despite what airlines promise, carbon offsets and sustainable fuels won’t negate the heavy environmental cost of air travel. by Jake Bittle This article originally appeared on VICE US. Last month, just weeks after climate activist Greta Thunberg was named Time’s Person of the Year, JetBlue announced that it would go carbon neutral on all its
‘Worse Than Anyone Expected’: Air Travel Emissions Vastly Outpace Predictions
The findings put pressure on airline regulators to take stronger action to fight climate change as they prepare for a summit next week. Aircraft preparing to take off at Heathrow Airport.Credit…Steve Parsons/PA Images, via Getty Images By Hiroko Tabuchi Greenhouse gas emissions from commercial air travel are growing at a faster clip than predicted in previous,
Cliff Mass: If You Worry About Climate Change and Care About the Environment, Vote No on I-1631
Did Sea-Tac’s Third Runway Change Our Climate?
Last week the Seattle Times had a front page story about the Northwest becoming warmer and wetter based on recently updated climate statistics at Seattle-Tacoma Airport. But can we use one observing site to reliably determine region climate trends? In my previous blog I noted that this is a real problem: one site is not necessarily representative