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It’s time to face the music: global warming is no myth. The earth’s climate is getting hotter because of human activity and all industries will experience upheaval, especially air transportation.

Conventional wisdom for a long time held that air transportation isn’t a serious source of pollution in comparison to other economic sectors, but that misconception has fallen by the wayside. Indeed, as aircraft pollution steadily increases, air transport is shaping up to be the next environmental villain.

A concerted effort is now underway to reduce air transport’s carbon footprint and to make the industry a better world citizen. New "green" aviation technologies are under development and implementation. Dramatic change already is occurring in maintenance, repair and overhaul, where eco-friendly aeroengines and MRO techniques are taking hold.

Air transport’s pollution record isn’t pretty. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions now account for more than 84 percent of all U.S. greenhouse emissions. The transportation category, which includes aviation, is the biggest CO2 culprit, at 33 percent. The EPA expects aircraft emissions to become one of the largest contributors to global warming by 2050.

Aviation’s historic growth is boosting its pollution output. The Federal Aviation Administration projects that the number of U.S. airline passengers will nearly double from about 740 million last year to 1.4 billion in 2025. The FAA says air traffic controllers will handle 95 million flights by all types of aircraft in 2025, compared with about 64 million last year.

Expanding worldwide prosperity, especially in the burgeoning economies of India, China and Russia, is generating new airlines and large orders for new aircraft. China alone has 40 new airports on the drawing boards.

As air travel increases, global consumption of jet fuel is on a dramatic upswing. Fuel now accounts for roughly 30 percent of airline operating costs, second only to labor. What’s more, the price of jet fuel has risen significantly in recent years, with no downturn in sight.

Heightened concern over global warming and air pollutants threatens to put a damper on aviation’s unprecedented growth. Political pressure is mounting for aviation to slash its greenhouse gas emissions, switch to cleaner alternative fuels and reduce engine noise levels.

Stepping up to the plate to meet the green challenge are the major OEMs, including Boeing and Airbus, as well as the major engine makers, including Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, General Electric and Turbomeca.

While attending the Paris Air Show in June, I discussed with Boeing officials their intention to make green aviation a priority. Boeing’s commercial airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson revealed at the show that Boeing has created a C-level office of environmental management, reporting to the company’s chief technology officer. Carson emphasized that the search for green solutions has propelled the use of fuel-saving composites in commercial aircraft, exemplified by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that was officially unveiled in July.

All of these issues were addressed during a recent Aviation Today webinar, entitled: The Green Challenge in Aviation: How "Clean" Technology Will Affect You, conducted Tuesday, July 31. This webinar is now archived; you can access it on our site.

Speakers on the webinar included Del Wilber, national aviation reporter, The Washington Post; Anupam Bhargava, general manager, line maintenance services, Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners; and Joy Finnegan, editor-in-chief, Aviation Maintenance magazine. I moderated the proceedings.

Anupam Bhargava of Pratt & Whitney shed light on how more efficient green aeroengine designs are now a market imperative, especially in light of emerging regulatory requirements to slash heat-trapping gasses.

Mr. Bhargava also discussed his company’s "Engine Wash" process, a new environmentally friendly MRO solution. He explained that effective engine wash uses only water and no detergents or chemicals; collects all effluent; uses a closed-loop system that recycles water; and brings the system to the aircraft, so that no movement is required, thereby saving fuel and reducing emissions.

FAA administrator Marion C. Blakey summed up the urgency behind these green initiatives, in recent remarks to the press: "Environmental issues may be the most serious, long-term constraints facing our industry."