Solving for Climate Ian McKay: How do we get rid of contrails?
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Sep 23, 2025 Ian McKay, Founder of Orca Sciences, dives into innovative solutions for climate challenges. He discusses a surprisingly simple fix for aviation contrails, highlighting their warming effects and easy alternatives in flight planning. The conversation also explores the pioneering work of Peregrine in clean hydrogen production for fertilizers, as well as unorthodox ideas like 'food without agriculture.' McKay shares insights on scaling hydrogen markets and the importance of learning from failed projects.
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Contrails Are A Hidden Warming Source
- Contrails form when aircraft exhaust seeds high-altitude clouds that trap infrared heat like a greenhouse effect.
- Ian McKay says contrail-driven cirrus contributes about 2% of anthropogenic warming and can spread into long-lasting clouds.
Small Altitude Changes Yield Huge Climate Gains
- Avoiding contrail-forming airspace by small altitude changes can cut contrail climate impact massively.
- McKay reports moving ~2% of flights by ~2,000 feet reduced contrail forcing by ~80% in a trial.
Publish Contrail Forecasts In Flight Planners
- Integrate contrail forecasts into flight planning tools ten hours ahead so pilots need not decide in flight.
- Make the forecast a selectable layer in existing planning software to avoid contrail-forming zones.