Fifty two years ago, on this day, September 1st, 1974,
The SR-71 Blackbird sets (and holds) the record for flying from New York to London in the time of 1 hour, 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds at a speed of 1,435.587 miles per hour (2,310.353 km/h).
Dromology, Virilio etc
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was 329ppm. As of 2026, when this post was published, it is 430ppm. This matters because the more carbon dioxide in the air, the more heat gets trapped. The more heat, the more extreme weather events. You can make it more complicated than that if you want, but really, it’s not. Fwiw, I have a tattoo of the Keeling Curve on my left forearm.
The broader context was that humans have been fascinated with flight and speed for a long time, certainly long before they could do it quicker than a galloping horse or camel. They had broken the speed of sound in level flight with Chuck Yeager in 1947 and here we see a spy plane, the Blackbird moving with very, very fast.
What I think we can learn from this is that your speed is all you’ll ever need, all you’ll ever need to know.
See also Paul Virilio and the concept of dromology.
What happened next – oh, we’re into hypersonic weapons now…
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On this topic, you might like these other posts on All Our Yesterdays
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References
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You can see the chronological list of All Our Yesterdays “on this day” posts here.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
If you want to get involved, let me know.
If you want to invite me on your podcast, that would boost my ego and probably improve the currently pitiful hit-rate on this site (the two are not-unrelated).
Also on this day:
September 1, 1933 – is our climate changing?
September 1, 1957 – Popular Mechanics asks “What is happening to the weather?”
September 1, 1968 – UNESCO Biosphere Conference begins in Paris
September 1, 1970 – Environmentalism is an elite-diversion tactic, says American Maoist
September 1, 1972 – “Man-Made Carbon Dioxide and the “Greenhouse Effect” published in Nature
September 1, 1980 – “Soft Underbelly of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet” article submitted
September 1, 1983- #climate change is all in the game, you feel me?
September 1, 1998 – Sydney Futures Exchange foresees a bright future. Ooops.
September 1, 2006 – Cameron signs FOE’s “Big Ask”
September 1, 2021 – XR action versus glass door of a US investment bank