Last plane photo for awhile
We have entered our summer storm period where thunderstorms begin in central Florida. This has driven some of the flight paths, normally 30nm to the east, to the west coast, and brought one of my favorite subjects closer. I've included the adsb screenshot for this particular flight of another 747-800. For anyone interested in this type of photography, almost anywhere in the world you are, just look up........the second screenshot is what the US looked like at 7:30 this morning, third is world view. (no comment on the environmental impact of our lifestyles.....but I guess I just did)
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the maps with all active flights(commercial and military) reminded me of the Super Bowl flyby and how many people complained about the cost of putting on a show like that. ADSB will filter military flights and on any given day there are thousands of military aircraft in the air from B52s to C130s and that doesn't account for any of the tactical aircraft which do not squawk. Three planes on a one-off flight that counts as training time is really inconsequential. Now contrails is another story, LOL.
Aviation's little-known pollution problem
Aviation contributes to global warming by emitting carbon dioxide (CO₂
and currently accounts for around 2-3% of annual global CO₂ emissions. But on top of that, aircraft engines emit other gases as well as particulate matter that affect the climate and our health. These are called non-CO₂ emissions and are little known despite their huge impact on the environment. The climate impact of aviation's non-CO₂ effects is at least as important as the impact of aviation's CO₂ and could triple the climate impact of your next flight.
The most famous of these non-CO₂ emissions are contrails. Contrails — the white lines we see behind planes — contribute disproportionately to aviation's climate impact. Contrails form clouds that act like a giant blanket. They trap heat that would normally escape from Earth into space, adding to global warming.
On top of the climate impact, pollutants such as soot, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides negatively impact air quality around airports — with consequences on people's health.
https://www.transportenvironment.org
I have seen photos where you could not see sky for all the contrails that were not dissipating.
StarTrek TNG started a story line about how warp speed of 5+ was destroying the fabric of space-time, then failed to follow through in any subsequent scripts or other ST shows, and I always wondered if some pressure was applied to get them to drop it. I'm not a ST nerd, so I looked just now to see what the consensus is for them dropping the story line, seem is was just too difficult a problem to write around. Being environmentally conscience, they should have developed it further. As should the industry address contrails, or as RJK JR calls them, chemtrails. Speaking of ST, couple of photos I took of the original model in the Smithsonian back in 1976, background modified to be more spacelike than the presentation actually was.
