[LINK] Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study

[Antony Barry]

On 05/02/2007, at 1:46 PM, grove at zeta.org.au wrote:

> One thing that cannot be made without oil is jet fuel.    AFAIK,  
> biofuels and synthetics aren't good enough to get the octanes  
> required for the big jets.
>

You can. US Air Force is doing tests on a B52 <http:// 
www.greencarcongress.com/2006/09/air_force_fligh.html>


> I am bemused by how jet travel globally is treated as such a low  
> end commodity.   The single biggest thing that can be done is to  
> raise the current price of a plane ticket to wherever by a factor  
> of 20.
>

Air travel is the fastest growing sector which is adding to global  
warming and it is by far the least efficient in the energy use per  
passenger mile. I'm with the Bishop of London. Air travel is immoral.  
<http://tony-barry.emu.id.au/wiki/pmwiki.php/Ningaui/BishopOfLondon>

> I also wonder why no one has taken seriously the use of airships  
> (blimp, zeppelin etc)
> in this day and age.   Modern air ships are safe, reliable and  
> environmentally friendly and can carry large cargoes from point to  
> point without the need
> for major airport infrastructure, fuel and so on.

Except supplies of helium are very limited and the main source is as  
an impurity in natual gas <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium> and  
that will peak a decade or so behind oil.

Now you can lift airships with hydrogen but the Hindenburg gave  
hydrogen a bad name even if it is not completely clear if the fabric  
covering was a major factor in the fire as well as the hydrogen  
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg_%28airship% 
29#Incendiary_Paint_Theory>.

No doubt we could build much safer hydrogen lifted airships now and  
also use the hydrogen as a fuel. Hydrogen airships and nuclear power  
both suffer from a very bad press and thence political problems however.

Tony

phone : 02 6241 7659 | mailto:me at Tony-Barry.emu.id.au
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