Green Aviation! Quo Vadis?

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Cacophonix
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Green Aviation! Quo Vadis?

#1 Post by Cacophonix » Tue Oct 23, 2018 10:26 am

I believe we are all environmentalists, not least because we all share the same biosphere, on a universal scale, and this good earth is where we all live and die. If we poison or destroy the environment then ultimately, all of us will suffer or not, depending on the way we have treated our environment. Initially the worst environmental abusers might not suffer as much as they will reap some economic benefit from their exploitation or ignorance of the situation, but over a relatively short period of time, the whole issue of environmental damage will prove to be a non-zero sum game and we will all suffer together accordingly, leading in the direst situation, to the day when the last human dies. We will then all be equally badly off because we will all be dead. Of course, this an extreme example illustrating a logical outcome and is, hopefully, not necessarily so.

It is on this basis that I believe that any strategies or technologies that seek to reduce our emissions of environmentally damaging, chemicals, gasses etc. are to be considered carefully on the basis of evidence and science and, when efficacious, not to be ignored based on short-term economic or ideological considerations alone.

I am a supporter of strategies that seek to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint in a science based way without resorting to the extremism of those whose would deny the benefits of aviation to humanity and who offer no alternatives save for returning to the proverbial horse and cart (which were environmentally damaging in their own way as well). I would also eschew the science deniers and fact deniers who are as bad or worse than the eco zealots!

All this comes to mind because well-meaning policies often have counter intuitive outcomes and play in the game with the law of unintended consequences where pragmatism often trumps well-meaning but flawed policies. I mean who would have thought the Ryanair might be one of the world’s most environmentally friendly airlines?
Indeed, OPEC (the intergovernmental organisation of oil-exporting nations) has done much more to bring about fuel efficiency than any European government. The higher the oil cartel pushes prices, the more aggressive airlines and plane makers become about fuel economy.

Ryanair fills an average of 96 per cent of the seats on its jets, a historically high “load factor” that makes the per-passenger environmental impact significantly less than on traditional airlines. Next spring, the airline takes delivery of 737MAX aircraft, which have eight more seats but use one-sixth less fuel.
This whole thread was precipitated by this excellent article predicated up on this EU policy document.

Road Map To Decarbonising European Aviation
This policy paper, produced by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, presents blue-sky thinking on how to reduce carbon emissions from aviation. By deploying prodigious quantities of renewable electricity to create a fuel usable by current jet engines, the soaring impact of aviation can be curtailed.

The formidable analysis of the scale of the problem, the possible solution and the costs involved, takes about three hours to read thoroughly – conveniently the airborne time for the flight from the UK to my present location in Greece.
Expensive ‘electrofuels’ only way to clean up air travel, report finds

By the time I landed, I had been able to conclude that the researchers have produced an excellent theoretical document. But they are whistling in the high-altitude wind if they believe that the UK, Europe and the rest of the world will pay it more than lip service.

While their wish-list is admirably optimistic, it has about as much chance of coming about as the Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary, deciding to jack in aviation and start running Irish Rail.
I can only concur with the author of that excellent article.

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 96036.html

What do ops-normalisers think?


Caco

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Re: Green Aviation! Quo Vadis?

#2 Post by Alisoncc » Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:00 am

Read the full article Caco, but in truth at 75 with an expectation of popping off in my eighties - next 5 to 15 years, would like to think CC will have little impact in my lifetime. I did my bit for planet Earth for eight of my formative years, helping to delay a nuclear Armageddon, then known as the Cold War. Even given up on arguing the toss on the "Politics and Controversial Topics" boards. Life is too short. Now where did I put my crochet hook.

Alison
Rev Mother Bene Gesserit.

Sent from my PDP11/05 running RSX-11D via an ASR33 (TTY)

Cacophonix
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Re: Green Aviation! Quo Vadis?

#3 Post by Cacophonix » Wed Oct 24, 2018 12:59 pm

Alisoncc wrote:
Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:00 am
Read the full article Caco, but in truth at 75 with an expectation of popping off in my eighties - next 5 to 15 years, would like to think CC will have little impact in my lifetime. I did my bit for planet Earth for eight of my formative years, helping to delay a nuclear Armageddon, then known as the Cold War. Even given up on arguing the toss on the "Politics and Controversial Topics" boards. Life is too short. Now where did I put my crochet hook.

Alison

Alison I am apt to think there is wisdom in your approach and words, trouble is I can't crochet! ;)))

Caco

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