For a minute there I thought I had to get off my couch, when all the while the fact is we don't have to do anything much but keep things afloat for just a few decades more! In fact, we'd best shut up about PO, because if our offspring finds out we knew about it all along, they'll turn and wring our necks come 2036!
Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 11:41 am Post subject: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
Quote:
WASHINGTON — The U.S. aviation industry has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 13% since 2000, even as the amount of flying has reached record levels, government data show.
...
Airlines cut fuel consumption from a record 20.4 billion gallons in 2000 to 19.6 billion in 2006, Department of Transportation figures show. In that period, theirplanes flew 18% more miles on domestic and international routes. That marks the first extended period in which airlines have cut fuel use while flying more miles, DOT data show.
...
Airlines have taken many steps to curb fuel use, such as adding navigation equipment so planes can fly more direct routes, modifying wings to improve aerodynamics and shaving weight from jets by installing lighter seats. Older jets are being replaced with newer, more fuel-efficient models.
Plane efficiency — the amount of fuel consumed per mile flown — improved by 23% from 2000 to 2006, DOT figures show. Automobile efficiency increased by 2% from 2000 to 2006. Commercial planes account for 2% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
Industry officials warn that aviation's improvement may be hard to continue. "There's so little left you can do other than renewing the fleet or flying less," said John Heimlich, chief economist of the Air Transport Association.
Alice Thomas of Earthjustice, a California environmental group, said with U.S. air travel expected to nearly double by 2025, aviation emissions will grow.
...
USA Today _________________ "It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 1:24 pm Post subject: Re: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
The next step will be to move back to tuboprops for short haul flights, boosting efficiency by a further 20%. Beyond that, there is little room to improve, besides potential use of propfans for long-haul.
Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 1:35 pm Post subject: Re: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
K6-III wrote:
The next step will be to move back to tuboprops for short haul flights, boosting efficiency by a further 20%. Beyond that, there is little room to improve, besides potential use of propfans for long-haul.
Dirigibles could make a comeback for transatlantic flights.
Smoking section, anyone? _________________ "It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 4:55 pm Post subject: Re: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
emersonbiggins wrote:
Dirigibles could make a comeback for transatlantic flights.
Smoking section, anyone?
I'm all for that. But we have a peak helium problem too. We could use hydrogen but you know how people would react to that. Plus, nobody has the time to spare to travel that way.
Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject: Re: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
mos6507 wrote:
emersonbiggins wrote:
Dirigibles could make a comeback for transatlantic flights.
Smoking section, anyone?
I'm all for that. But we have a peak helium problem too. We could use hydrogen but you know how people would react to that. Plus, nobody has the time to spare to travel that way.
It's faster than by oceanliner, though, right? Apparently, the German airships took about 3-4 days to cross the Atlantic. Not bad, considering... _________________ "It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
Joined: Apr 28, 2005 Posts: 3434 Location: West shore Lake Eire, MI, USA
Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 6:38 pm Post subject: Re: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
mos6507 wrote:
emersonbiggins wrote:
Dirigibles could make a comeback for transatlantic flights.
Smoking section, anyone?
I'm all for that. But we have a peak helium problem too. We could use hydrogen but you know how people would react to that. Plus, nobody has the time to spare to travel that way.
You don't need Hydrogen or Helium, you just use a heat exchanger and make hot air from engine coolant and exhaust gasses. Not as much lift as a lighter gas, but not all that bad either. _________________ Oxygen: - An intensely habit-forming accumulative toxic substance. As little
as one breath is known to produce a life-long addiction to the gas, which addiction invariably ends in death.--Isaac Asimov
Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 4:41 am Post subject: Re: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
emersonbiggins wrote:
...
Alice Thomas of Earthjustice, a California environmental group, said with U.S. air travel expected to nearly double by 2025, aviation emissions will grow.
...
*cough cough*
I'm going to disagree with that forecast.
I think it's more likely for US air travel to drop in half by 2025....there's this thing called peak oil!
and yes turbo-props will be coming back into style.
As for increasing efficiency remember folks the first 20% cut is pretty easy. It's the low hanging fruit. The next 20% is impossible unless you plan on throwing the toilet seat out and make your passengers stand up.
Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 8:06 pm Post subject: Re: Planes' efficiency up 23% in six years.
cube wrote:
emersonbiggins wrote:
...
Alice Thomas of Earthjustice, a California environmental group, said with U.S. air travel expected to nearly double by 2025, aviation emissions will grow.
...
*cough cough*
I'm going to disagree with that forecast.
I think it's more likely for US air travel to drop in half by 2025....there's this thing called peak oil!
and yes turbo-props will be coming back into style.
As for increasing efficiency remember folks the first 20% cut is pretty easy. It's the low hanging fruit. The next 20% is impossible unless you plan on throwing the toilet seat out and make your passengers stand up.
Next FAA directive: force passengers to wear flushable undergarments. _________________ "It's called the American Dream because you'd have to be asleep to believe it."
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