TagClimate(59)
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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 -
2019-11-23Boston’s Climate Action Plan
We’re taking action now to ensure that Boston can be a thriving city for generations to come. Page Sections Boston’s 2030 Climate Action Plan is Boston’s roadmap for how we will reduce our carbon emissions and protect our neighborhoods from climate change, while centering climate justice. Achieving our 2030 and 2050 emissions goals will provide -
‘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, -
2019-06-27Contrail cirrus radiative forcing for future air traffic
A scientific study projects that contrail cirrus (cloud formations created by aircraft exhaust) will produce three times more climate warming by 2050 compared to 2006, driven largely by a fourfold increase in air traffic volume. While reducing soot emissions from aircraft by 50% could cut this warming effect by about 15%, the researchers found that fuel and emissions improvements alone cannot offset the dramatic rise in contrails expected from increased flight activity. The study focuses on global climate impacts rather than local airport noise, and may have limited direct relevance to Sea-Tac Airport noise policy. -
2013-05-10Prominent former Seattle port executive Richard Ford dies
Richard Ford, a Northwest native who rose to prominence as a port executive, attorney and civic leader, died May 5, according to Ford’s family. He was 83. Ford was born in Seattle, grew up in Spokane and graduated from Washington State University, where he met his wife, Nancy Panchot. The couple later moved to the -
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 -
2011-05-03Resolution No. 3650, as amended
Resolution No. 3650 was adopted by the Port of Seattle Commission on May 3, 2011, updating the Port's policies and procedures under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) to reflect changes in law and improve effectiveness. The resolution requires the Port to analyze and, where appropriate, mitigate the environmental impacts of its proposals, including consideration of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. It supersedes all prior related resolutions and formally designates policies that may be used to condition or deny actions under SEPA's substantive authority. -
2000-09-01Aircraft contrails factsheet
This EPA fact sheet explains that aircraft contrails are line-shaped clouds made of ice crystals formed when water vapor in jet engine exhaust mixes with cold air at high altitudes. Contrails are composed primarily of water and do not pose direct health risks, but persistent contrails can spread into cirrus cloud cover and may influence the Earth's climate by affecting atmospheric cloudiness. Scientists estimate that persistent contrails cover about 0.1 percent of the Earth's surface on average, with the highest concentrations occurring over heavily trafficked air corridors like Europe and the United States.