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Cloud-like white trails left by aircraft may be playing a significant role in global warming, a scientist said today. The exhaust plumes contain carbon dioxide and chemicals which can lead to the production of ozone – which creates smog. At the same time, the vapour trails, in the right conditions, can form feathery cirrus clouds which warm the surface of the Earth’s by trapping heat. Patrick Minnis, of the USA’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, studied how the average temperature of the US increased by one degree from 1975 to 1994. While acknowledging that it...

Arnold: "No, I have made a decision. I'm against it. It looks good on the surface, but when you study it you see its true intentions. It was a no-brainer, once I looked at all the reading and all the materials. I do a lot of work with after school programs, a lot of these kids are minorities, and we need to know how they're doing and bring them up to the starting line. It was a no-brainer. And if the right-wing crazies have a problem with that, so be it." Why are so many FReepers up in arms over...

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey health officials were awaiting test results Tuesday to determine if a child from the state is infected with monkeypox. The 11-year-old boy came into contact with a pair of prairie dogs while visiting a family friend in a Midwestern state where the infection has spread, state officials said. Results on blood and lesion samples from the boy sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected in several days. Nationally, health officials were working to contain the spread of the monkeypox virus, which is related to smallpox and apparently has never before...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. GENESEO, Ill. (AP) — As a military plane swooped over an Illinois town, frightened residents called police, but a relative said later that the pilot just wanted to impress his grandmother. Witnesses said Maj. Whitney Sieben made at least four low passes and performed loops and barrel rolls Thursday over Genesco, a town of 6,400 in western Illinois. Sieben said he had permission from air traffic control to deviate from his flight plan. He said he was flying about 350 mph and never dropped below 2,000 feet. His aunt, Kay Sieben,...

The unique atmospheric conditions following last year's terrorist attacks on the United States have helped Australian scientists solve a 50-year-old mystery: why bodies of water, like backyard swimming pools, are evaporating much more slowly than decades ago, despite global warming. In the aftermath of September11, more than 10,000 aircraft were suddenly grounded for three days. "It was like a big experiment you can't normally do," said Michael Roderick of the Australian National University and Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting. People across the US reportedly remarked at how clear the skies became. Dr Roderick and Professor Graham Farquhar used data...

By Ronald Kotulak Tribune science reporter August 8, 2002 Fluffy rows of cirrus clouds created by the increasing number of jet contrails can sometimes fill half the sky and may significantly affect ground temperatures, according to a report in Thursday's issue of the British science journal Nature. Using a unique opportunity to study the effect of contrails on temperature after all commercial planes were grounded for three days after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a team of researchers found that clouds spawned by jets lower peak daytime temperatures and raise the lowest nighttime readings. Such temperature changes could have a...

Math TrekSong-and-Dance Fermat Food for ThoughtBreath-Taking Popcorn Science SafariCold Lighting TimeLine70 Years Ago in Science News Week of May 11, 2002; Vol. 161, No. 19 September's Science: Shutdown of airlines aided contrail studies Sid Perkins Immediately after four hijacked airliners slammed into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Federal Aviation Administration shut down all U.S. commercial air traffic for 3 days. The unprecedented grounding of airliners enabled airports to step up security measures. At the same time, scientists stepped up to a unique opportunity to study the influence of high-flying aircraft on Earth's...