Posted by
Aaron McLucas on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 6:57:32 PM
The United Kingdom is being urged by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) to stop anymore
expansion of the airline industry untill they underestand more, among other things, the effects of contrails and carbon emmisions from aircraft.
Among the main areas of dispute are:
- The economic benefit of aviation: Treasury analysis based on aviation industry research estimates future increases in economic activity through expanded aviation - but excludes any calculation of losses to the UK tourist industry through cheap flights abroad.
- The impact of aviation's greenhouse gas emissions: This is a particularly difficult area as scientists are still trying to work out exactly how much the heating effect of aircraft emissions is magnified, as the gases are released at altitude. There is also uncertainty over how to express the significance of the heating effect of contrails.
- The role of technology: The aviation industry believes that many problems can be solved by improved technology. But many experts warn that improvements in technology cannot keep up with the increase in demand for flying.
How is it that funding hasn't been put in place for this? Here is a whole new area to study, write scientific papers, and scare people with.
The last one is probably a good idea if Britians air traffic control is as antiquated as ours.