Whilst there is also a separate issue that the release of CO2 at high altitude is more damaging to the environment than release at ground level, the primary concern is the release of carbon that had been locked up in the ground for millions of years as CO2 into the atmosphere. If the CO2 released by 'planes had only been fixed by plants in the last few years, it wouldn't be (so much of) a problem: it would be part of the present biosystem, constantly cycling back and forth between the atmosphere and biosphere, not an addition to it.
That's why I get annoyed whenever I see the implication one can do carbon offsetting by planting trees: it doesn't work, unless you chop down the trees when they're fully grown and bury them at the bottom of a mine!
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Date: 2013-02-21 10:19 am (UTC)That's why I get annoyed whenever I see the implication one can do carbon offsetting by planting trees: it doesn't work, unless you chop down the trees when they're fully grown and bury them at the bottom of a mine!