Birds do it: but can we fly without destroying the planet?
This fascinating Stanford University video explores what can be done to make aviation more sustainable
Yes, we can all do the thing that we know sounds greenest and just decide to stop using air transport altogether.
But until then, perhaps it will be worthwhile getting a briefing on how the aero industry sees its future.
Ilan Kroo, professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, discusses the impact of aviation on the environment and the idea of “sustainable” aviation.
Transport is responsible for 13-20% of all greenhouse gases, and aviation accounts for about 13% of transportation.
Additionally, burning fuel at higher altitudes has an increased effect on global warming compared to the same emissions at lower altitudes, which gives the airline industry a disproportionate impact on climate change.
Kroo shows that airplane efficiency has improved by 70% since the first airplane design, but has a number of design recommendations for further increasing the fuel efficiency of planes.
These include autonomous aerial refueling, formation flight, and altered wing shape for reduction of drag.
Kroo recommends systems of fleet design, new configuration and technologies, and a new climate model as critical for future improvements.
Professor Kroo’s background
He received his B.S. degree in Physics from Stanford in 1978, then continued studies at Stanford in Aeronautics, leading to a Ph.D. degree in 1983.
He worked in the Advanced Aerodynamic Concepts Branch at NASA’s Ames Research Center for four years before returning to Stanford as a member of the Aero/Astro faculty.
Prof. Kroo’s research in aerodynamics and multidisciplinary design optimization includes the study of innovative airplane concepts.
He has participated in the design of UAV’s, flying pterosaur replicas, Americas’ Cup sailboats, and high-speed research aircraft.
In addition to his research and teaching interests, Prof. Kroo is founder and chief scientist of a small software company and is an advanced cross-country hang glider pilot.
Ilan Kroo is a Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University.
He received his B.S. degree in Physics from Stanford in 1978, then continued studies at Stanford in Aeronautics, leading to a Ph.D. degree in 1983.
He worked in the Advanced Aerodynamic Concepts Branch at NASA’s Ames Research Center for four years before returning to Stanford as a member of the Aero/Astro faculty.
Prof. Kroo’s research in aerodynamics and multidisciplinary design optimization includes the study of innovative airplane concepts.
He has participated in the design of UAV’s, flying pterosaur replicas, Americas’ Cup sailboats, and high-speed research aircraft.
In addition to his research and teaching interests, Prof. Kroo is founder and chief scientist of a small software company and is an advanced cross-country hang glider pilot.
The video is of a lecture by Ilan Kroo for the Woods Energy Seminar (ENERGY301) In his talk “Future Air Transportation and the Environment”
Reading in this article that “Transport is responsible for 13-20% of all greenhouse gases, and aviation accounts for about 13% of transportation.” was a bit of a shocker.I’ve been looking online to see what I can find on sustainable air transport and came across this website:
http://www.greenerbydesign.org.uk/home/index.php
They claim to be “Dedicated to Sustainable Aviation”, but to be honest, the website is not the most interesting thing online and it’s not really easy to find stuff that’s relevant to the man on the street.I’m going to carry on looking and see if I can find something that is a bit easier to understand and that gives travellers a more informed view of what’s being done to make air travel have less of an environmental impact.
Interesting article. I have to say that I was surprised by the part that stated that “burning fuel at higher altitudes has an increased effect on global warming compared to the same emissions at lower altitudes”, as I had no idea that different altitudes had this much effect on the environment.
I decided to do a little research into this, and find out a bit more details about the difference. During my hunt, I found this website, by Air Southwest (http://www.airsouthwest.com/env/)and they state/claim that “1g of CO2 produced at high altitude has the same effect as 2.7g produced at sea level”, which I thought was interesting.
I think I’ll see if I can find anything else regarding the effects of plane altitudes on the environment.
This is a bit more like it:
http://www.greendiary.com/entry/amazing-futuristic-airships-for-sustainable-air-travel/
This website has an article on airships as a greener alternative. There’s a piece on a Spanish company called Turtle Airships that is developing a luxurious solar-powered aircraft that can take passengers from New York to Paris.
It says that “The first airship prototype will be propelled in two nontraditional ways. The outer surface of the ship will be roofed with lightweight photovoltaic cells (CIG). The cells are expected to generate enough power to move the aircraft at around 40 mph in average conditions, or at around 70 horsepower. In addition to CIG PV cells, the solar-powered blimp is equipped with a diesel drive train for those non-sunny days.”
This sounds really cool and the photos of the airships are stunning, they have a real space-age look to them! What a way to travel. I what the costs will be like compared with traditional style air-fares?
@Debbie, I just checked out that link, and all I have to say is WOW! It’s really interesting that the majority of the ideas of that website are designed around the idea of a blimp/airship, a type of aircraft that was such a spectacular part of our Aeronautic history, and yet so catastropic! However, even though they have been so dangerous in the past, when you think about it, they make so much sense, due to the way they’re powered.Plus, with advances in technology today, they’llno doubt be far safer than Zeppelins, and much (much)friendlier on the environment.
I just did a little research of my own, and was surprised (but very pleased), to find this article that was published the Guardian newspaper back in June this year (2010): http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/30/blimps-aircraft-freight suggesting that blimps could infact replace the common plane…in the sense of transporting freight at least, but still incredibly cool!
I think it’s quite exciting stuff!
I would love to see the blimps fly again.
Not only would they help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they also look wonderful.
Good find Kat – I’ve heard recently that blimps are actually making a comeback. Another thing I heard recently about is that compared with the number of passengers on the Hindenburg, not many of them actually perished in the disaster, which surprised me!
Moving away from airships, I found something quite interesting on Treehugger.com on how to be a more environment conscious traveller when jet-setting round the world. It’s something called “per seat, on demand” service. It’s run by a service called DayJet and it says in the article that “when you want to fly, just give them a ring. DayJet then sets up a flight plan customized to your wishes. The next bit that boggles the mind is that they operate out of the local community and regional airports.” The local airport thing sounds great – it would cut out the need for long journeys to airports like we get in the UK.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/dayjet.php
This sounds as if it’s better than my local bus service! There are loads of regional and local airfields in the US, but I’m not sure how practical this would be in the UK where airports are fewer and more far-between!
After a bit of research, I found this website that focuses mainly on sustainability in aviation:
http://www.sustainableaviation.co.uk/
Says its home page:
“Sustainable Aviation is a long term strategy which sets out the collective approach of UK aviation to tackling the challenge of ensuring a sustainable future for our industry.”
Quite nice to know that there is a concerted effort in dealing with aviation’s sustainability. I wonder how their efforts are doing and if other countries have followed suit in this kind of initiative.
Looking for sustainable aviation, I found this one:
http://www.icsa-aviation.org
“The International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation (ICSA) is a structured network of environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who share a common concern with civil aviation’s contribution to air quality issues, climate change and noise”
That’s a good one Malini! Nice to know that there is an international initiative on aviation’s sustainability.