Jet Affecting Us in Every Meansby | 14-02-2016 10:00 |
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Hello ladies and gentleman. This is the ambassador of South Korea. Today, I would like to write an article about Jet Stream. Recently, most regions in the Northern Hemisphere have experienced severely cold weathers. Heavy snows affected towns in the US, East Asia, and even Europe. Meteorologists say that weakened jet stream from the North Pole has resulted in such weather. Jet stream, which is a flow of air around the North Pole, effectively limits the exchange of energy between the polar area and subarctic area. However, due to higher ratio of greenhouse emissions, jet stream has weakened years by years. Thus, the cold air from the North Pole easily penetrates the air in lower regions. Truly, human interventions on our mother nature have been affecting our weather in severe manner, but unexpected implications of greenhouse emission are being discovered. One of them is that weaker jet stream resulted in lower efficiency of air travel. Trans-atlantic and trans-pacific flights, which are two most frequent long-distance flights are affected due to languish jet stream. As the wind from the pole are not completely blocked, aircrafts need to use more fuel, and thus in turn result in a harsher greenhouse gas emission crisis. The situation obviously leads to a vicious cycle. According to a research done by Dr. Paul Williams (Univ. of Reading), the flight time between New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and London Heathrow (LHR) increased by 5 minutes and 18 seconds compared to that of 40 years ago. In terms of CO2, 70000 tons more CO2 are generated annually due to this change. In order to normalize the vicious cycle happening in our weather, a major breakthrough should be applied, for the development of vicious cycle would make it harsher to recuperate. Aircraft manufacturers should find ways to enhance the fuel efficiency through engineering jobs, such as that done by utilizing winglet structures. Authorities should create laws to regulate fuel efficiency of aircrafts and any other transportation means. Should humans do more for the sake of Earth?s health, they finally deserve to enjoy a nice weather.  |
