The affluent citizens of the world are responsible for most environmental impacts and are central to any future prospect of retreating to safer environmental conditions. Any transition towards sustainability can only be effective if far-reaching lifestyle changes complement technological advancements. The wealthiest 0.54%, about 40 million people, are responsible for 14% of lifestyle-related greenhouse gas emissions, while the bottom 50% of …
Green bailouts: relying on carbon offsetting will let polluting airlines off the hook
May 27, 2020, Ben Christopher Howard, Doctoral Researcher in Nature-based Solutions, University of Birmingham The coronavirus pandemic has grounded thousands of aircraft, contributing to the largest-ever annual fall in CO₂ emissions. At some point though, the planes will soar again and with them, global emissions. Most airlines in the UK have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. From 2026, …
Nine-seat all-electric aircraft set for first flight
Damian Carrington @dpcarrington 27 May 2020 Largest all-electric aircraft set for first flight The world’s largest all-electric aircraft is about to take to the skies for the first time. The Cessna Caravan, retrofitted with an electric engine, is expected to fly for 20-30 minutes over Washington state in the US on Thursday. The plane can carry nine passengers but a test …
No fossil fuels are burned to run this jet engine. It needs only air and electricity.
CHRISTIAN COTRONEO May 6, 2020 Tweet1Save Aviation Most jet engines, including the one pictured, burn fossil fuels. (Photo: Steve Mann/Shutterstock) A prototype for a new jet engine promises to fly passengers halfway around the world — without burning fossil fuels. The engine, developed at the Institute of Technological Sciences at Wuhan University, would allow passengers to fly carbon-neutral skies. Researchers say …
Electric Air Taxi Service Set To Launch In California By 2021: eFlyer2 costs just $23 per hour of flight to operate compared, to $110 per hour for a Cessna 172
April 24th, 2020 by Jo Borrás, Clean Technica Quantum Air announced plans to launch what it’s calling a world’s first — an air taxi service using a fleet of 26 all-electric flying taxis to shuttle passengers between major points in the greater Los Angeles area. Quantum XYZ is claiming that these air taxi trips will replace hours-long car rides in LA’s notoriously …
O&G leaving a mess behind, Warren and Bruenig’s conditions for stimulus
Excerpt from NYTimes, March 2020. The $700 billion bank bailout elicited a voter backlash, which means any aid this time is likely to have large strings attached. Those could include limits on executive compensation, prohibitions on stock buybacks and, most prominent, measures to force bailed out companies to keep workers on their payrolls. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, released an …
Harbor Air’s Electric-Powered Commercial Airplane Takes Off, Makes History By Dan Catchpole, article in Fortune, December 10, 2019 <https://fortune.com/2019/12/10/electric-powered-commercial-airplane-makes-history/> For a sci-fi airplane, the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver looks nothing like the future: stubby wings, a burly fuselage and two fat pontoons. It first flew in 1947. Nonetheless, when a Beaver lifted off from Vancouver Harbour Tuesday morning, it signaled …
Norway’s plan for a fleet of electric planes
Avinor, the public operator of Norwegian airports, “aims to be the first in the world” to make the switch to electric air transport, chief executive Dag Falk-Petersen said. “We think that all flights lasting up to 1.5 hours can be flown by aircraft that are entirely electric,” he said, noting that would cover all domestic flights and those to neighbouring …
Nearly HALF of all flights are deemed to be ‘unimportant and pointless’ by the people taking them
Researchers studied a total of more than 500 flights over five years Found that almost half had a level of unimportant attached to them Air travel is one of the world’s leading contributors to global warming By JOE PINKSTONE FOR MAILONLINE 30 September 2019 Air travel and increasing amounts of flights is a leading contributor to climate change with fewer flights an easy way to …
Airlines’ CO2 emissions rising up to 70% faster than predicted
Carbon dioxide emitted by commercial flights rose by 32% from 2013 to 2018, study shows, Gwyn Topham Transport, The Guardian, 19 Sep 2019 Worldwide CO2 emissions from commercial flights are rising up to 70% faster than predicted by the UN, according to an analysis. Carbon dioxide emitted by airlines increased by 32% from 2013 to 2018, according to a study by the International Council …