It certainly seems like the folks protesting Heathrow Airport’s planned runway expansion are not afraid of guns. Having
breached security and climbed on top of a plane earlier this week, yesterday a
group of activists found their way to the roof of the Houses of Parliament, unfurled giant banners, and threw down paper airplanes made from official documents that alledgedly
“prove that airport operator BAA wrote parts of the consultation document and that the government has already decided to build a 3rd runway and 6th terminal at the world's biggest international airport.” One of the protesters, Richard George from the group Plane Stupid (whose response to industry plans for green air travel we covered
here), explained the strategy:
“We decided to let Gordon Brown get on with prime minister's questions, but we just wanted him to know what it is like to have an inconvenience above your head that you did not ask for.”
Mr Brown, however, was not impressed.
...
We've written about Richard Branson and Virgin's foray into
biofuels for aviation. There are some news on that front, but unfortunately they aren't all good. Virgin was never clear on what type of biofuel it was going to use, but it said it wanted something "truly sustainable" that did not compete with food and fresh water resources.
It seems like it's not quite what we're going to get for the first flight this month: "it will not be an algae or halophyte-derived alternative, second-generation biofuels that come from renewable and sustainable feedstocks. Rather, it will be a first-generation biofuel whose feedstock is generally understood to compete with either land and water use for food crops or carbon sinks such as rainforests." But this is still partly good news....
“You've travelled the world. Now change it.” says
We Are What We Do, the global social movement. They have been changing the world (
for a Fiver and
9 to 5) for three years now and thought it was high time to raise their sights about … 35,000 feet! We Are What We Do has launched their new campaign to tackle
Action 95: Earn Fewer Air Miles, and are proud to announce their on-board, in-flight '
Change the World at 35,000 Feet' booklet with
Virgin Atlantic. The book aims to inspire passengers to make small changes and lists simple holiday actions to reduce their carbon footprint; from travelling smarter and packing leaner to addressing the steward with a friendly demeanor. WAWWD believes in “small changes that, times lots of people, add up to a big change”. But they also admit that reducing air miles is a tough one:
...
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
It's no big secret that we here at TreeHugger are ardent fans of
biomimicry; we were therefore quite interested to read about the efforts of a team of University of Michigan engineers
to design flapping-wing planes by seeking inspiration from birds, bats and insects.
Wei Shyy, chair of the university's aerospace engineering department, explained the source of his inspiration:
“Natural flyers obviously have some highly varied mechanical properties that we really have not incorporated in engineering. They’re not only lighter, but also have much more adaptive structures as well as capabilities of integrating aerodynamics with wing and body shapes, which change all the time. Natural flyers have outstanding capabilities to remain airborne through wind gusts, rain, and snow.” ...
When we reported that British Airways was seeing its profits squeezed by the twin threat of
rising oil prices and increased competition from rail, commenter Ecobore suspected it had more to do with the budget airlines than it did any shift to greener travel. Budget airline Ryanair, however, is certainly not to blame as CEO Micheael O’Leary has just announced that he expects to see a 50% cut in profits due to higher oil prices – this announcement comes hot on the heels of his deputy CEO suggesting
environmental concerns may already be impacting demand for flights. O’Leary, however, continued his tradition of baiting environmentalists with his usual strong language, by saying that he would actually welcome a recession as it would put an end to efforts to curb air travel: ...
While some of us try to wean ourselves from our jet addiction and the engineers at Reaction Engines work out the kinks of a
hydrogen-fueled hypersonic jet designed to get passengers from Brussels to Sidney between breakfast and lunch, a German non-profit called Bauhaus Luftfahrt is working on the wacky-looking "box wing" aircraft above and other goodies to help cut air travel's carbon dioxide emissions 35 percent by 2035.
Bauhaus, which includes Germany's MTU Aero Engines, is proposing to get to that goal in three steps: employing geared turbofan technology in conventional jet engines for a 15 percent CO2 reduction; adding counter-rotating fans into these same engines (5 percent); and lastly, equipping the system with a waste-heat recuperating technology for another 15 percent. An added benefit MTU said, would be quieter planes. MTU is studying incorporating the new engine systems into new aircraft designs like the so-called box wing. Not to be outdone,...
It is a new record; over 400 private jets are flying into Phoenix for the Super Bowl this weekend, carrying mostly corporate types and their clients. “The Giants in particular have a huge corporate fan base" said an organizer of corporate events in the
New York Times, “And 99 percent of our clients are corporations that are looking to entertain clients at these events.” Some of those corporations may even be among those who make claims to being concerned about the environment. So what is the impact of all these flights?
We did a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation.
...
Images courtesy of Nick Kaloterakis for Popular Science
Flying will never be faster — or greener. That's the message Reaction Engine hopes its customers will take to heart after riding the hydrogen-powered A2. Supported in part by a grant from the EU's Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies project (Lapcat), the Mach-5, or 3,400 mph, A2 concept is in many ways the spiritual successor of the late Concorde. It differs in two important respects: range and engine efficiency.
As
Popular Science's Michael Belfiore
reports, the A2 is designed to carry up to 300 passengers from Brussels to Sydney in under 4 hours. The speedy airliner will benefit from a 2-mode engine — turbojet and ramjet propulsion systems — that will make it both extremely efficient at slow speeds and able to reach top speeds with great ease. Used in quick succession, these 2 modes allow the A2 to seamlessly shift from Mach-2.5 to Mach-5; a cooling system wrapped around the engine — which includes an extra turbine compressor — prevents the turbines from getting excessively hot....
Cheap flights to Europe and beyond are a British
addiction. For the price of a sandwich (plus taxes which are often more than the cost of the flight), one can fly just about
anywhere for a long weekend ("city break" as they are called). In this crazy world, travellers to Florence land in Pisa, Stockholm is Skavsta ( 65 miles away) and Vienna is Bratislava. Many previously unknown small towns welcome the new airports and commerce which the flights bring. However the residents of one smallish beautiful city--Siena, Italy, are up in arms about proposals to expand the airport to allow large airplanes and a possible 4 million tourists a year by 2020.
The area around Siena is also known as "
Chiantishire" because so many wealthy Brit's have second homes there (Tony
Blair visited often). Now tourists come by train or car through the magnificent Tuscan countryside with its vineyards, art, culture and great food. The proposed expansion of the pokey little airport, built for Mussolini, will mean that 15 airlines will fly tourists into town. The opposition to the project is an interesting mix of locals and rich English.
...
If we are looking for ways to burn less fuel high in the atmosphere, perhaps there are other ways to fly. The
Focus 21 France relies on the "
ground effect", where drag is significantly reduced when flying between 1-1/2 and 2 times the wingspan of the craft; fuel use could be reduced up to 40%. All the benefits of flying without the racking, stacking and packing. The Focus 21 is designed for a modest 15 passengers, primarily as a high end yacht tender, but in the cold war the Russians used them for a lot more.
::Dvice...
Image courtesy of egmb757lover
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is vigorously contesting a proposal made by several EU nations that would include aviation emissions under the international body's cap-and-trade scheme. The airline trade organization has been furiously lobbying member states for its rejection and has vowed to fight until the bitter end.
"This is a global industry and we need a global tool. Regional trading schemes will not work. That is why 170 countries will challenge Europe. Instead of working together to build a global trading scheme, governments will be discussing legal issues," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's chief executive. ...
As airlines and airplane manufacturers continue to concentrate on increasing capacity, the European Union (EU) took an important step in regulating greenhouse gas emissions from the civil aviation sector. Earlier this week, the European Parliament approved a plan that would require EU-registered airlines to apply for emissions permits beginning in 2011. Similar to other polluting industries within the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, airlines will be required to reduce their emissions or offset excess emissions by purchasing additional credits or investing in international climate protection projects.
This announcement is of particular importance as emissions from aviation have doubled since 1991, and were expected to increase by an additional 50% by 2012. Under the new plan, each airline would be allowed to emit 90% of its average emissions for a 2004-2006 reference period. The aviation plan is part of the EU's effort to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the year 2020.
See also
::Boeing's Zero-Emission Plane Set To Take OffSite and
::Virgin Atlantic testing Bio-fuel on Jumbo Jet
...
By now it is pretty well known, at least within the TreeHugger community, that there are issues with aviation and climate change. While the exact contribution that flying makes to the climate crisis remains the subject of fierce debate, it seems certain that any such energy-hungry activity will remain carbon intensive for some time to come. While
some progress is being made towards greener flying, it seems that
taking the train,
vacationing closer to home, or teleconferencing (despite
its associated drawbacks) will continue to be the environmentally preferred options for the forseeable future. However, there are things you can do, besides offsetting, that can reduce your emissions when flying is unavoidable. ...
Virgin Records founder Richard Branson is reportedly hoping to rope in singer and actress Natalie Imbruglia as the host of his new eco-friendly TV series. The British airline and media mogul, who made his
green pledge last year under pressure from Al Gore and Ted Turner, wants the singer to front a new show on his Virgin 1 channel. In the show she'll visit the homes of celebrities and blast them for not being more environmentally friendly. ...
Edward de Bono, the champion of lateral thinking is credited with saying "It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all."
One such ideas person is Darrell Campbell, who stumbled upon some of our earlier airship posts, in particular the
AerosCraft, which he likes though naturally thinks his designs are better. Darrell professes to be the orginator of the design and technology promoted by
Millennium Airship (That’s their pic above) but he is working on his own even more improved design currently—the Turtle Airship.
His vision is for a fleet of rigid shelled airships. To this shell of aluminium, titanium, or stainless steel he envisages despositing amorphous thin film photovoltaic cells. Their solar generated electricity would drive motors that used super-conducting magnets in lieu of copper wire. Biodiesel generators would be on board as back-up power. ...
Virgin boss, Richard Branson, has announced that not only will his company begin producing bio-fuels, but that he is going to test them out on one of his own 747s. Would you want to be on this maiden flight?
Speaking to the Mortgage Bankers Association, of all things, he said that by the start of next decade his company will be producing their own bio-fuels for use in buses, trains and cars.
"Early next year we will fly one of our 747s without passengers with one of the fuels that we have developed," said Branson. Branson has
previously mentioned cellulosic ethanol as one potential source, but said that there are problems with it freezing above 15,000 feet, and that butanol may be more suitable. Virgin will be working with Boeing and GE Aviation to create the fuel....
Any long time readers of TreeHugger will no doubt be aware that there are significant concerns about the
rising emissions from the aviation industry. We’ve even seen calls from some for
cigarette-style warnings on advertising for flights and foreign holidays (as well as other carbon intensive products and services). However, we have also seen some early signs of the potential for greener flying, including Auckland Airport
landing Jumbos in idle to save fuel, and
claims by EasyJet that they can build a plane with 50% lower emissions (claims that were met with scepticism by our very own John Laumer). There has also been a considerable amount of work going into biofuels for planes, whether it’s
Virgin’s mysterious non-ethanol fuel, or
CFM International’s tests of 30% vegetable oil methyl ester, and 70% Jet-A1 fuel. Until now, however, there had been no reports of anyone flying a jet plane using 100% biofuel. We repeat, until now…
According to
Green Flight International, an organization set up specifically to explore fuel options for greener flying, and
Biodiesel Solutions, the producers of a farm- and community-scale biodiesel conversion module. the two organizations have just completed a
test flight using 100% biodiesel:
...
With flying being one of the greatest contributors to growing carbon emissions, airlines are scrambling to find ways to clean up their image –
carbon offsets,
recycling, zero emissions targets – but it is up to some scrutiny and debate as to whether these measures will be effective.
Nevertheless, it shouldn’t stop the airlines from trying. With New Zealand’s government declaring itself to actively become the world’s first carbon neutral nation with sustainability underpinning the “
four pillars of the economy, society, the environment, and nationhood,” Air New Zealand is planning to launch the first test of a commercial 747 airliner flying partially on biofuels, as part of a deal between the airline, engine maker Rolls-Royce and aircraft manufacturer Boeing to study greener flying, with the first flight slated to take off late 2008 or early 2009 (without passengers).
...
We are pretty used to
campaigns to cut aircraft pollution here at TreeHugger , we’re just not so used to these campaigns being originated by airlines themselves. Not long ago Mairi reported on
calls by UK-based budget carrier Easyjet for an outright ban on older aircraft, among other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It seems that these calls were more than just a flash in the pan, and Easyjet is now stepping up its campaign with a promotional email asking customers to write to their Members of Parliament with the following message:
...
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If you're not attempting to reduce your airline's carbon emissions by flying the first 
The overwhelming problem today with air travel is its huge carbon overhead. But there are also those smaller, nagging issues with taking a plane - endless security, bad (or nonexistant) food, lack of leg room - and when you've reached your destination, the possibility of lost luggage. A Swedish start-up, Kamen Ltd., is linking together the problem of luggage gone astray and CO2 emissions by selling a luggage-tracing ID tag with built-in carbon offsets. GreenBagTag is a combination of the 
Finders of a misplaced tagged bag call GlobalBagTag which after ID'ing via the serial number (no personal info is on the tag) sends the owner an SMS with the bag's location info. GreenBagTag may not solve the problem of CO2 offsets doing 
Environmentalists say the darndest things. Friends of the Earth is 
From 
