The European Union (EU) released a 94-page list of airlines that must reduce their emissions or will be banned from European airports two days ago. These are airlines of various sorts from all around the world. Some top players include United Airlines, US Airways, and the US Navy.

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Earlier this week, the world’s first piloted aircraft powered solely by hydrogen fuel cells, took to the skies above Hamburg Airport, Germany, producing zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The Antares DLR-H2, jointly developed by the German aerospace centre DLR, Lange Aviation, BASF Fuel Cells and Denmark’s Serenergy, has a range of 750km (390nm) and can stay airborne for 5 hours at top flying speeds of about 90kt (170km/h).

According to DLR, a main hurdle was improving fuel cell performance capabilities and efficiency to such an extent that the motor glider could take off using fuel cell power alone. DLR’s Johann-Dietrich told reporters, “This enables us to demonstrate the true potential of this technology.” (see more pictures after the jump).

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First we had electric trains. Then electric cars. Now, airplanes.

Sonex, a national leader in providing affordable high performance kit aircraft, is developing a concept Waiex E-Flight Electric-Powered plane.

I caught up with Mark Schaible, Marketing Director for Sonex, at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture last year, the largest aircraft event on the planet. The EAA AirVenture is held in July and early August every year in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at the Wittman Regional Airport.

“That’s our goal,” says Schaible, surrounded by the entire family of kit aircraft, including the Sonex Sport Trainer, Sonex Sport Acro and Xenos Sport Motorglider.  “Keep ahead of the marketplace with an electric airplane.  Someone is going to do it, so it might as well be us. We have made a lot of progress and are working very hard toward first flight [with our Waiex E-Flight Electric Powered aircraft].”

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Passenger numbers on fuel-guzzling domestic flights fell 20% in the year to November as commuters and tourists swapped cramped airline seats for the space and convenience of the train, according to figures released yesterday.

High-speed rail travel - boosted by the opening of a line that slashed the journey time from Madrid to Barcelona to 2 hours 35 minutes in February - grew 28% over the same period. About 400,000 travellers shunned airports and opted for the 220mph AVE trains.

Last year’s drop in air travel, which was also helped by new high-speed lines from Madrid to Valladolid, Segovia and Malaga, marks the beginning of what experts say is a revolution in Spanish travel habits.

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By Alok Jha (The Guardian) - Boeing and Air New Zealand will fly a jumbo jet powered partly by biofuel next month, the two companies announced on the 13th.

An Air New Zealand jet will leave Auckland on December 3 with a 50-50 mix of jet fuel and oil from jatropha trees, in one of its four engines on a flight designed to show that jatropha biofuel is suitable for use in aviation as well as economical to produce.

“This flight strongly supports our efforts to be the world’s most environmentally responsible airline,” said Rob Fyfe, chief executive of Air New Zealand. “Introducing a new generation of sustainable fuels is the next logical step in our efforts to further save fuel and reduce aircraft emissions.”

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The drones are flying out of Ilulissat, half way up Greenland’s west coast, for three weeks through the end of this month. Scientists studying the rapidly vanishing Greenland ice sheet need to fill gaps in their data that was collected through satellite imagery.

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Continental Airlines, Boeing, and GE Aviation have scheduled a biofuel test flight for early 2009, citing the desire to identify sustainable fuel alternatives for the aviation industry. Continental may be the first US carrier to do so and, in the words of president and CEO of GE aviation, is “taking an important step in advancing the use of sustainable biofuels in aviation.”

The three companies are working together to identify a non-food based, second-generation biofuel that won’t significantly impact forests or water resources. No details on the fuel are available, but it will have to be production ready in quantities sufficient to power the test-flight and mix seamlessly with kerosene aviation fuel (Jet-A).

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Boeing announced in January they would test an alternative fuel in one engine of a 747, but did not disclose what that fuel would be. They did, however, talk a great deal about an algae-derived fuel, without being specific.

Airbus, meanwhile, said it used a liquid fuel processed from gas (Gas to Liquids - GTL), mixed with regular jet fuel in the number one engine. The flight, from Filton, UK to Toulouse, France, took three hours. The plane is powered by four Rolls Royce Trent 900 engines, and said to be the most fuel efficient in the air today.

Boeing, meanwhile had planned their test in late February, as explained in this story: Algae-Based Biofuel to Power Virgin Atlantic 747 Jet?, filed on Jan. 15.

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Swiss hotel owner and environmentalist Walter Knutti has become tired of the noise and concerned by unnecessary emissions from military aircraft on training flights from the nearby airbase of Meiringen. Taking action, Knutti has collected enough signatures to force the issue to a popular vote - under the Swiss system of direct democracy voters have a right to challenge parliamentary laws or pass constitutional amendments by collecting a minimum number of signatures to force a ballot.

Under Knutti’s initiative, Swiss voters will decide next month if military jets should be banned from tourism zones.

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One British strategic communications firm argued that the airline industry essentially needs a PR makeover. Steve Dunne of the Brighter Group went so far as to say that the industry risks sliding into a reputation akin to that of cigarette manufacturers in the U.S.: "The aviation industry is just not representing itself properly or effectively to put the lobbying efforts of the eco-warriors into some kind of perspective."

I’m not convinced the risk is that dramatic — at least here in the U.S. While there are certainly efficiency measures airlines should be considering — such as being towed to a starting point on the runway instead of burning fuel to get there – advocating a total ban on air travel as some do (or even very high taxes) is a losing cause (by the way, I want to hear a convincing argument as to why flying on a commercial plane isn’t public transportation, like taking the bus).

But the pollution problems for the industry could take off: The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that while the CO2 emissions per passenger kilometer have decreased, the increased number of passengers overall has negated that efficiency. Furthermore, the World Wildlife Fund predicts airlines to make up 15 percent of all global CO2 emissions by 2041.

So while the airlines may not be likened to cigarette manufacturers yet, they should consider some reputation management now. And there are good things happening: The International Air Transport Association says they saved 6 million tons of CO2 by shortening routes worldwide. Virgin’s Richard Branson just announced that he’s planning a 747 biofuel test flight for early next year, and Northwest put together a taskforce of employees and managers that came up with ways to cut inefficient fuel use by 31 million gallons per year. To keep up with the increasing number of passengers and the increasing concern about global warming (including carbon regulation), however, the airlines industry will have to continue decreasing their contribution to the problem and keep telling the public about it. Telling their side of the story — while performing real, meaningful leadership — will keep their reputation from taking a nose dive.

Cross posted on Maria Energia

International Herald Tribune

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Whether you desire to buy trees to help the environment for personal reasons, for investment purposes or you simply refer others to buy trees through our Affiliate Program,  PanAm BioFuels has made the process so simple that everyone can find a way to participate in it.

1) Purchase Trees for Investment

Jatropha trees can be bought directly from Pan-Am Biofuels for only $4 each in lots ranging from 250 trees for $1000 to 25,000 trees for $100,000.  Though delivery is possible for larger volumes, we will believe most people will take advantage of our Contract Farming Program where we will actually plant your trees on our plantations. 

With our Contract Farming Program we do all the work from planting to harvest to sale of the oil.  The only fee for all of this is a 10% fee from profits.  Then 90% of the profits are passed on to you, the tree owner.  All you have to do is purchase your trees in lots for only $4/each.

If you have priced trees at your local nursery you will see most prices range from $10 to $25. So now you may be thinking…

"How can you produce, plant and sell these trees at only $4 each?"

There are several reasons, including, but not limited to,

• Because the cost of living as well as labor is much cheaper in Central America where our nurseries are located.
• The efficiencies and economies of scale we enjoy by the huge volume of trees our nursery outputs allow us to save a tremendous amount of money passing the savings on to you.
• Our nursery is in close proximity to our Jatropha Tree plantation in Costa Rica where our Contract Farming Program is being implemented so there are minimal transportation expenses.

"So how much money do I stand to earn by buying your Jatropha Trees? What is the return on my investment?" 

Your trees can potentially bring  as much as 45% PER YEAR calculated  from your original investment once the trees start producing within 3-4 years.   Jatropha trees start bearing seeds the second year and reach maximum production at about 4 years.  You can review the full details and Financial Projections once you register and login.

Pan-Am Biofuels has truly created a unique situation and opportunity for the average person to take advantage of.

Now you can participate in an industry that has produced the wealthiest individuals and corporations in the world. The only difference is, instead of drilling for oil and destroying the environment, you will be growing oil and restoring the environment by owning oil producing Jatrpha Trees

2) Sell trees for Commissions as an Affiliate

We will pay you to refer customers! Pan-Am Biofuels has created a lucrative opportunity for webmasters,  business owners and individuals alike. By becoming an Affiliate you can help promote our Jatropha tree project, earn commissions and at the same time you’ll be doing your part to better our environment.  Learn more about how our Affiliate Program works.

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

GO and ENN news articles have reported on Ecuador’s high-minded decision to leave its largest oil reserve untapped. The unexploited oil fields lie in Yasuni National Park, home to at least two indigenous tribes. Drilling them would add a pretty penny to the country’s purse. However, under the YasunÌ-ITT Initiative, President Rafael Correa has vowed to leave the oil in the ground. The initiative also sets the lofty goals of developing greater renewable energy, building greater mass transit, and stimulating eco-tourism.

How can the average person reading this article encourage Ecuador to do the right thing by the Earth and its indigenous people? Is it enough to say "good job, well done?" With the rest of the world fumbling to look busy over addressing climate change, it is our opportunity and perhaps our obligation to stand up and support Ecuador for its brave move.

Ecuador hopes to receive some compensation from other governments for the unexploited oil due to the benign effect on the global climate of leaving it in the ground. But for the average person in a country that exports 420,600 barrels of oil a day, President Correa’s decision may seem like a risky one. Ecuador’s official unemployment is 10.6% and an estimated 47% are underemployed, estimates the CIA World Factbook.

41 year-old Maritza Salazar owns a stationary store in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. She is one of a long list of Ecuadoran entrepreneurs requesting a loan through the micro-financing organization, Kiva.org. For vendors like Mrs. Salazar, national oil revenues may be less important if she’s able to fund the growth of her non-oil-dependent business. By funding businesses like Mrs. Salazar’s, the average person from anywhere in the world can make substantive progress in alleviating Ecuador’s dependence on oil and encouraging its transition into one of the world’s leading environmentally friendly nations.

Another green option that may appeal to the lover of travel is to visit Ecuador and make use of its rich eco-tourism opportunities. Tourism is the Ecuador’s fourth most valuable source of revenue. Eco-tourism is a great way to get the memorable experiences that tourists often look for when traveling to Ecuador, including visiting indigenous tribes, experiencing local customs and tasting regional foods, horseback riding, animal-watching, and setting out on guided hikes through the unbelievably beautiful scenery of virgin rainforest. Take this opportune moment to visit the land that eco-tourism company, Global Exchange, calls "a bastion of cultural and biological diversity… home to one of the most successful and peaceful indigenous movements in the Americas." See the list of resources below for some ways to take advantage of Ecuador’s eco-tourism industry.

The decision not to drill in Ecuador’s Yasuni National Park will benefit the entire world, by protecting an ecological heritage and indigenous lands as well as effectively preventing 436 million tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Ecuador must know that its decision was a good one, and here’s where you and I have the opportunity to step in. As usual, if you have other ideas about how to encourage Ecuador’s exciting, ecologically minded move, please leave them here below in the comment and discussion area.

Resources:

Kiva.org

Ecuador | Iloveecotourism.com

Adventure Ecotourism in Ecuador | Piedra Blanca

Ecuador | Global Exchange

Department of Tourism | Ecuador National Website

Ecuador Adventures | OARS

Ecotourism and Ecuador | Ecuador Tierra Viva Travel Company

Rio Muchacho Organic Farm | Guacamayo Tours

Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands | Lonely Planet

References:

Ecuador to Leave Oil – And Revenue – In the Ground | GO

Gutsy Ecuador proposes to put a lid on oil | Environmental News Network (ENN)

Introduction to Ecuador’s Economy | Ecuador Ministry of Tourism

Ecuador | The United States Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

Virgin Atlantic recognises how important it is for all companies to understand the impact of the products they use, both on the environment and on the people producing them. So, we’re proud to support Fairtrade, which guarantees farmers a fair price for their product, and are really pleased that our passengers will benefit from a comprehensive range of Fairtrade teas and coffees onboard our flights.

Virgin Atlantic made the decision to offer Fair Trade as a part of their business sustainability strategy. Serving Fair Trade is part of the step to provide more "ethical, environmental and sustainable products." The airline is also putting their fleet on a diet, creating leaner planes that require less fuel. They have begun replacing older planes with the new Dreamliner, which burns 27% less fuel. The new Boeing plane was unveiled earlier this summer and it’s composition is high in carbon fiber rather than the traditional aluminum, reducing it’s weight and therefore fuel requirements. Virgin Atlantic continues to search better ways to fly, with a 3 billion investment from Virgin’s transportation profits to find renewable energy initiatives and using biofuels in flight. Last year Virgin unveiled a plan to build a starting grid at airports. This holding area would be close to the runway and consist of several parking bays. The result would mean the plane could be towed closer to the runway before take-off and thereby reduce the time the massive engines idle.

Of course, a large portion of responsible travel is on the traveller’s shoulders. There are many options, from limiting our travel to finding alternate forms such as train transport, which emits 1/3 of the carbon as its equivalent flight. Yet for those unavoidable times we must take to the skies, there are now flights in which you can sip your coffee in comfort knowing it was not made at another’s expense.

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

A booming airline industry might be great for the economy, but it’s wreaking increasing havoc with the environment. Aviation today spews out only 3 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, but the segment is expanding fast — faster, in fact, than any improvements in efficiency are likely to keep pace with. According to the Christian Science Monitor,

"Efficiency is only set to improve at 1 or 2 percent per year at best, while the number of passenger kilometers is growing at 5 or 6 percent," says Peter Lockley, head of policy development at the Aviation Environment Federation, a British think tank. "So emissions are going up steadily in the gap between the two."

For some, the answer is to stop flying now, cold turkey. To halt an entire industry dead in its tracks, though, is sure to risk massive, global economic damage. So what other options are there?

The best idea would seem to be a carbon tax on air travel that is hiked incrementally over the next decade or two to the point that flying is increasingly discouraged … and enough funding is raised to support research and development for more sustainable travel alternatives. It’s a better solution than continuing with business as usual, which appears certain to ramp up greenhouse gas emissions to unacceptable levels in the very near future.

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

The British government has vowed to reduce green house gas emissions, but at the same time it supports plans to expand the country’s 21 airports. Heathrow already sports four terminals and two runways. A fifth terminal is scheduled to open in March 2008, and there is talk of adding a third runway in the near future.

According to the BBC, the traffic through Heathrow reaches around 470,000 flights carrying 67.7 million passengers a year. Although aviation currently accounts for only 7% of the UK’s carbon emissions, that figure is due to rise as Heathrow and other airports are enlarged.

Protestors congregated at the Camp for Climate Action, an eco-village which, starting today, will host a series of lectures and workshops throughout the week. The program includes sessions entitled "Zero Carbon Britain," "Faith and the Environment - an Islamic Perspective," and "Compositing Capitalism," as well as what sound like practical inductions, such as "Energy Recovery in Buildings", "Climate Change Speaker Training" and "Building an Effective Campaign".

There will be a build-up of activism leading to Sunday’s 24 hours of civil disobedience and "mass action against corporate climate criminals," as the Camp for Climate Action website puts it. However, a spokeswoman for the Camp ensured the BBC that airline passengers would not be the focus of the demonstrations. About 1,800 police officers have been called in to monitor the event.

During this week, which is one of the busiest of the year, some 1.5 million travelers are expected at Heathrow.

BBC News
Camp for Climate Action
Euronews

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

When Ron Hochstetler graduated from Purdue with a degree in aviation technology, he didn’t know how different his path would be from the other graduates of his class. Though trained to work with the helicopters and jets that we today associate air travel, Ron became fascinated with a different type of craft. An aircraft that "belongs in the sky."

Now, twenty years later, Ron is one of the world’s leading experts in "lighter than air" technology. It’s an industry that many believe died with the Hindenburg. But Ron makes his case…the golden age of airships may be yet to come. And we’re happy to have him as this week’s EcoGeek of the Week.

EcoGeek: How does someone go about becoming an internationally recognized airship expert?

Ron Hochstetler: When I graduated from college I saw lots of people going into major technical fields where pretty much everything had already been developed and the technologies they’d be working on were very mature. Not much room for a new guy to make a new mark. But then I read an article about a little company in Britain (Airship Industries) that wanted to build modern technology airships. I figured here was a part of aviation that was cool, was still pretty much unexploited, and was made up of such a small cadre of people that just about any contributions I could make would have some significance. The short answer is: if you pick a small pond a lot of the splashes you make will be big ones.

EG: In as brief a list as possible, what kind of advantages does airship travel hold over traditional air travel?

RH: The best word picture I can give you is to refer back to where we left off, with the Hindenburg. It could carry a whopping 100 tons of payload and people at a top speed of 83 mph (cruise was closer to 65 mph). Yet it was powered by only four diesel engines each with a maximum of about 1,200 hp., so for less than the horsepower of one engine on a four engine C-130 turboprop cargo plane (that only carries 20 tons) the Hindenburg could fly from Southern Germany all the way to the US in about 72 hours. The transport airship exchanges time for fuel, and yields space. What I mean is that with airship you can travel to your destination consuming a fraction of the fuel required by a jet aircraft of the same payload capacity, but at a slower airspeed. Your airship cruising speed is about one-tenth of the jet’s speed, but because you’re traveling slower than the jet, your airship cabin area can be quite spacious and give you an air travel experience that is actually comfortable. The airship could be outfitted with broadband access to the Internet, satellite phone communications, and all the media entertainment you can imagine. You could have wide open sightseeing windows, sit down dinners, or full sleeping quarters where you can stretch out in a real bed. And this would not just be for the First Class crowd: the airship has the extravagance of space, and can offer plenty to every passenger.

EG: Could travel by airship be more efficient than automobile or train travel? What about barge shipping?

RH: Barges and ships are among the most fuel efficient ways to ship anything. In countries where you have efficient ground transportation systems, the airship is not going to be competitive. Where the airship can compete is with short-distance air transport, or with ground transportation in those places where the ground transport system is poor to non-existent. Here, I’m talking about passenger transport; if you switch to considering the airship for its cargo hauling capabilities, the news gets even better. If the stuff you what to haul won’t fit into your aircraft, your ground transport vehicles, or over your highways and railways, and you’re not in a real hurry to ship it, then the cargo airship begins to make economic and fuel efficient sense. If designed properly, an airship can do vertical load transfers. That means you can hover over the stuff you want to pick up, lift it up to the airship by an internal hoist, and then motor off to where you want to put your stuff back on the earth. This type of cargo airship would be used more like a “flying forklift,” and would be utilized to move outsized or heavy things around a city, construction site, or around a region where there are insufficient bridges or roads. This type of airship could really change the way modern society moves its stuff because it doesn’t depend on highways, railroads, bridges (that sometimes crash), or airports. You have almost complete freedom to move just about anything, just about anywhere, just about any time, provided you’re not in a hurry.

EG: What do you think are the biggest obstacles facing the airship industry?

RH: The technology is available today to build airships with payloads of up to approximately 90 tons lift. With an R&D program focused on certain key enabling airship technologies, it should be possible to build airships up to the range of around 350 tons lift. The problem is that we need good business and engineering leadership to craft the airship development programs that can build the modern airships that society will use. The airship industry has no shortage of enthusiasts, visionaries, and passionate dreamers, but it’s almost barren of the steely-eyed business people who have the professionalism and expertise to first build the solid enterprise that can build the airships. I guess it’s just easier for these people to get an MBA and go manage an IT start-up or a Fortune 500 company. The airship market is there, and the technology is in our hands, but where do we find the business architects who have the courage to take on this great challenge?

The other obstacle (if you can call it that) is the scale of the airship. The bigger the airship, the more efficient and useful it is, and the more challenging to construct. Eventually, the sheer size of the craft begins to tax the engineers as they devise ways to manufacture and join the increasingly large (and lightweight) structures that make up the ships.

EG: Are there any particularly exciting advances in airships that might make the technology more feasible in the near future?

RH: The new high strength fabrics, light weight aircraft composite materials, and computer-aided design tools have revolutionized airship design. Modern computer simulation and modeling also allow us to better navigate around inclement weather conditions. In the old days, the pilots of the big airships had to take their best guess at where the bad weather was. Now we can minutely plan every flight route to minimize the impact of headwinds, and actually take advantage of the weather to lower our airship fuel consumption by 20% to 50%, depending on the particular journey.

The other interesting change has been the advances in hydrogen powered systems. The airship has some very unique qualities that enable it to probably be the most fuel efficient (and environmentally friendly) air transport system possible. The large surface area of the airship causes the high aerodynamic drag that limits its airspeed, but that surface area can be used to carry thousands of square feet of solar cells to provide electric power for the ship’s propulsive needs. The non-flammable helium inside the ship also provides a perfect environment in which to store hydrogen fuel containers that can provide hydrogen not as a lifting gas (as was used in the Hindenburg), but as a fuel for either a fuel cell propulsion system or simply to burn in conventional internal combustion propulsion engines. These technologies could be used to produce “zero emissions” transport airships with the ability to carry hundreds of tons of cargo or people over distances of hundreds or even thousands of miles.

EG: Are there applications that airship travel is particularly suited for?

RH: Slightly more than half of all passenger jet aircraft travel is over distances of approximately 400 miles or less. Airship passenger travel gets more competitive with jet travel as the overall trip distance decreases (and as jet fuel becomes more expensive). But you have to factor in the “total trip” time, which includes travel to the airport, parking the car, going through security, boarding the plane, waiting for clearance to take off, etc… The amount of time spent at either end of your journey (whether by jet or airship or whatever) remains the same regardless of how long the trip itself is. So, if you can use the airship’s ability to do a vertical landing in or near the locations you really want to get to or from, then you have a good shot at reducing the total point-to-point travel time enough to make the airship quite acceptable for short distance air travel.

EG: You’re obviously captivated and excited by this technology…how did you catch the bug, and why do you think you’ve stuck with it for so long?

RH: I got interested in airships when the Goodyear blimp came to Purdue University for a football game. The ship was moored out at the University airport where I was taking most of my aviation classes. My parents had come down to visit me that weekend, so we all went out to see the ship after dark. The ship was surrounded by a ring of ground lights which made it shine silvery against the night sky. The door of the ship was open, and my dad and I could barely see inside because the ground crew had ballasted the ship to be slightly light so her tail was high and her landing gear was about a foot off of the ground. My mother wanted to see inside the ship, so she grabbed the hand rail that runs along the side of the gondola and pulled the airship down to the ground! At that moment I knew this aircraft was something completely different from the airplanes and helicopters I’d been training on. I saw that this was an aircraft that actually belonged in the sky, and I decided I belonged with the airships! I have no regrets after more than 20 years in this business. I also have great optimism that the airship’s golden age has not passed, but is truly upon us. The conjunction of soaring fuel costs and increasing concern about aviation’s contribution of GHGs to the environment is causing mainstream decision makers to reconsider the qualities of the airship. I’m convinced that the modern airship is part of the solution set for dealing with global warming, in addition to providing an affordable and sustainable air transportation option to the developed and developing countries.

EcoGeek of the Week is a syndicated column from EcoGeek.org. If you would like to syndicate the column, or suggest an EcoGeek to be featured, please contact our editor at editor@ecogeek.org.

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

This is certainly a positive step towards reducing our environmental impact, but it is important that we do not accept this as the final solution. Phil Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust, a non-partisan US group, told the BBC that the 787 was a "major step forward," but not the sole solution to aviation emissions. Air travel for a family of four flying from the USA to Europe would produce approximately the same amount of carbon as the sum of their domestic energy use in an entire year, and this will continue to rise. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that by 2050 emissions from aircraft could be responsible for up to 15 percent of total global warming produced by human activities."

As travellers, our current objective should be an approach on multiple fronts. Consumers should applaud this technical advancement in jet production, but also call for even more advancements from competitors to create a race towards travel that does not harm the environment. The amount of travel each person undertakes should also be limited as much as possible; when it's unavoidable, travelers shoud consider purchasing carbon offsets. Consumers should also consider train transportation when possible, as travel by rail emits one third of the carbon as an equivalent flight.

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.

More trains trips, less plane trips, and a Jaguar and Land Rover that run on cooking oil have sliced his footprint. He also farms organically, and gets electricity from renewable sources at his Highgrove estate.

Charles and his wife, Camilla, have promised to cut emissions even further. Future plans include converting the royal train to biodiesel fuel (Europe’s first biodiesel-powered passenger train – Virgin Trains – left the station earlier this month, a project of Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson).

Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth, praised the prince’s leadership:

"The fact that he reduced his carbon emissions by 9 percent in the last year alone highlights the potential for making rapid cuts in the nation's contribution to climate change.”

Others are more critical. Charles took heat a few months ago when he flew to New York to receive an environmental award. The prince’s principal private secretary, Sir Michael Peat, explained that Charles uses carbon offsets like funding tree planting or renewable energy projects to balance out the travel. “We’re doing it the best way we can at the moment,” he noted.

CNN

For example, the Soaring Society of America, representing over 11,000 active soaring and motorglider pilots, has promoted the ecological benefits of non-motorized flight for years.  Using the power of the sun to keep their machines aloft for hours on end, gliders (sailplanes) exploit the sunshine striking Earth’s surface, causing the air to warm and rise.  Thanks to aeronautical design and the use of light composite materials, a glider can lift upwards on this stream of warming air and ride it to the base of clouds, across great distances and speeds nearing 100 mph.  “No fuel, no money, no problem,” sums up Anne Mingiovi with a smile at the Soaring Society of America exhibit area at the EAA AirVenture last year.

Like at the gas pump, aviation fuel has taken huge price swings over the past year. “For 100 low-lead, the most common general aviation fuel, its price has swung up and down with fuel prices in general,” explains Knapinski.  “It still remains $1 to $1.50 per gallon higher than auto fuel, and is tied with the price of oil.  Another challenge has been the increasing ethanol blends in motor fuels.  Ethanol is quite damaging to aircraft fueling systems as they now exist,  and with thousands of aircraft able to use non-ethanol auto fuel, that inclusion can swiftly become a safety issue.”  This is, in part, why some of the more innovative aircraft companies are exploring biodiesel engines or electric-powered flight.

“The EAA has always been the organization where those who are thinking ahead find a community of support,” adds Knapinski.  “Every year at Oshkosh there are new ideas, concepts and prototypes that challenge the status-quo thinking of aviation. For instance, General Electric sent its aviation engineering
staff to Oshkosh in 2008 to find out what notable ideas might be coming out of the individual innovators and tinkerers. That is the reputation of EAA members and their organization, which all comes together at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each summer.”

So, the entrepreneur economy—as evidenced by the thousands of exhibitors and aircraft designers—continues to soar at the EAA AirVenture.

Want to catch what’s next in energy-efficient aviation? Land at this year’s EAA AirVenture.

Photos Courtesy of Beige Alert @ Flickr under Creative Commons license.