alt Hacker NewsThere's a bunch of other interesting flight path optimization work going on at https://contrails.org/.
It turns out contrails contribute to 2% of global warming power and is relatively easily avoided. The cost might be a bit more fuel consumption though.
Replies
hackernud3s • today at 1:03 AM
The fuel consumption feels like the bigger problem since contrails last for hours vs co2 that lasts damn near forever.
➕ show 1 reply
Fun fact, contrails contribute to global warming, but only at night.
During the day they have a cooling effect by reflecting/blocking some light.
The optimal is not to eliminate them entirely, but to create them only early in the day so that they dissipate by sunset.