Green Options » airplanes

Nearly 4,000 Airlines Must Reduce Emissions or Are Banned in the EU

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:51:45 +0000

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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Rentech to Supply Renewable Synthetic Fuels for Los Angeles International Airport

Joanna Schroeder — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:46:59 +0000

Today, Rentech, Inc. announced that it will be supplying renewable synthetic fuels to eight airlines for ground service equipment operations at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

This multi-year agreement will supply the airlines with up to 1.5 million gallons per year of renewable RenDiesel. The airline purchasers under the agreement with Aircraft Service International Group (ASIG) include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, UPS Airlines and U.S. Airways. The airlines will begin using the RenDiesel in 2012, when the plant that will produce the fuel is scheduled to go into service.

“This commercial purchase contract among Rentech, ASIG and the airlines validates the growing demand for synthetic fuels produced by the Rentech Process,” said D. Hunt Ramsbottom, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rentech. “The low-emissions profile and near-zero carbon footprint of our renewable RenDiesel will guarantee that LAX ground service vehicles using this fuel will be among the cleanest and greenest of their kind.”

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USAF Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Run on Solar Power

Andrew Williams — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:16:57 +0000

A team of US scientists are working on a new generation of airborne solar cells, and expects them to power Air Force unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the near future.

The University of Washington’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project team, believe that their new breed of Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) will become an optimum energy harvesting source that may lead to longer flight times without the need to refuel.

According to lead researcher Dr. Minoru Taya, “These kinds of solar cells have more specific power convergence efficiency (PCE), very clean energy and easy scalability to a larger skin area of the craft, as well as low-temperature processing, which leads to lower costs overall.”

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Activist Who Slimed British Minister Has Now Been Arrested

Alex Felsinger — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:37:56 +0000

Leila Deen, a 29-year-old activist with the anti-aviation group Plane Stupid, has been arrested for the slime “attack” on a British minister last week after initially getting away without any repercussions.

Deen walked away after tossing green goo in the face of the British Secretary of State for Business. She was not immediately apprehended and even stopped in with the BBC for an interview later.

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Activist Takes Cue from Nickelodeon, Slimes British Minister

Alex Felsinger — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:37:04 +0000

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A protester from the anti-aviation group Plane Stupid managed to toss a cup of green slime in the face of Lord Mandelson before scolding him for his support for the third runway at Heathrow airport.

Amazingly, the woman walked away without being arrested and has now come forward to identify herself as 29-year-old Leila Deen. She said that Mandelson is directly responsible for the approval of the plans to build the third runway.

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The Eco-Friendly Skies: Greening the Airline Industry

Lisa Wojnovich — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:09:54 +0000

Yet another product has been added to the list of new and innovative things we can make from corn. Recently, Dupont Tate & Lyle Bio Products announced that, working in conjunction with Kilfrost, a major producer of de- and anti-icing fluids for aircraft, they have come up with a new de-icer derived from non-petroleum sources — namely, corn and sugar.

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‘Plane Stupid’ Climate Activists Block Runway at UK Airport

Alex Felsinger — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 06:43:19 +0000

Fifty protesters with anti-aviation climate change activist group Plane Stupid have chained themselves together near the runway at Stansted airport. The group aims to draw attention to the CO2 emissions attributed to air travel, claiming each flight from the airport emits an average of 41.58 tons of CO2.

Flights have been delayed while police deal with the situation and four protesters have already been arrested.
The group chose Stansted airport because the government recently approved a massive expansion project which will increase the number of passengers from 25 million to 35 million by adding 23,000 commercial flights a year.

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No Joke: Flying Car Runs on Ethanol with 180 Mile Range

Alex Felsinger — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:31:06 +0000

The flying car has been the inventor’s enigma since the dawn of motor vehicles, but using a simple fan and parachute combo, a British engineer has created the an ethanol-powered road-legal flying car with a range of 180-miles.

Best part? All you need is a one day course and a powered-parachute license to fly the Skycar.

“I started making a paramotor on wheels that you sit on and take off and it suddenly occurred to me, ‘Why not just have a car that does everything?’” said Gilo Cardozo, who owns a Wiltshire-based company called Parajet.

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