by Daniel Brouse
When jet engines fly across the sky, there are two different things that happen. Both are likely causing harm to the environment. Neither are being done on purpose. That is to say — there is no conspiracy to spray chemicals. There is no such thing as intentional “chemtrails”.
What is really happening?
#1 — Jet fuel combustion. The jet fuel exhaust that you can’t see is CO2, particulates and gases which contribute to human induced climate change. They are a major cause of global warming and ocean acidification. The European Union states, “Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Someone flying from London to New York and back generates roughly the same level of emissions as the average person in the EU does by heating their home for a whole year.”
In 2013, aircraft accounted for nearly 11 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. transportation sector, making them responsible for about 3 percent of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions)
#2 — Water vapor. Jet engines at high altitude, under certain atmospheric conditions, condense water into droplets to form Condensation trails (contrails). These contrails are the clouds that you can see with the naked eye. Dr. Sidd Mukherjee of the Membrane Domain says, “It is clear that contrails contribute to warming (form high level cirrus that blocks more outgoing radiation than incoming solar) and this effect was seen when air traffic was suspended in 2001.”
Another effect recently studied is caused by jet exhausts generating a layer of ice crystals, ice haze, that promotes a more diffuse type of light. Chuck Long, from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said what was occurring is an example of “accidental geoengineering”. He said, “If you look up the definition of geoengineering, it includes large-scale manipulation of parts of the climate system or the environment, and I believe this ice haze from jet traffic does satisfy that requirement.”
The ice haze is scattering the light as it falls on the Earth. The researchers do not think the “sub-visual contrail-generated ice haze” has a major effect on global warming; however, it may have some significant effects on biology, says Prof. Martin Wild of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Plants prefer diffuse light. Mr. Wild explained, “If you have a canopy structure, the direct light is absorbed by the uppermost leaves. Everything below is shaded and so misses out on that energy. But diffuse light can travel deeper into the canopy and can be absorbed by the plants lower down. So in that sense, if you have more diffuse light those lower plants will profit.” What is good for low level plants may be bad for solar panels: “If you’re decreasing the direct light, then you’re decreasing the energy available for those concentrator systems.”