dmbdmbdmbdmbdmb (April 15, 2008 at 7:10 pm)

Go George!

Teratornis (April 12, 2008 at 5:07 am)

Sailing ships could make a comeback. See the videos about SkySails on YouTube. Basically a large computer-controlled power kite for a ship. The first one cuts oil use by up to 30% on the MS Beluga SkySails, a cargo ship. Improved models could provide more tractive power. However, traveling for the sole purpose of moving information is stupid. We can use high-definition videoconferencing instead. See Cisco's Telepresence for a look at the future. Get off Hubbert's curve and onto Moore's law.

itenddotcom (March 23, 2008 at 10:17 pm)

I am testing to post first comment

bcronin79 (March 13, 2008 at 9:26 pm)

If we limit biofuels to use for air travel, there would not be pressure on land. Air travel only accounts for 1-2% of.You need to specifiy the resource from which you are making biofuels ... biofuels from corn is a disaster, like you say. However, next-generation Biofuels will have a good net energy benefit.

fileboy2002 (March 13, 2008 at 5:58 pm)

Read his book. He talks about the mass production of biofuels as one of the most ecologically disasterous trends of our time. Not only does harvesting crops for fuel raise the price of food and increase hunger, but the process of clearing land for and cultivating biofuels creates MORE atmospheric CO2 than oil drilling.

bcronin79 (February 19, 2008 at 11:26 am)

I think he is wrong ... next generation biofuels could be developed to replace aviation kerosene.If we use electric vehicles, then we would not need alot of land to produce bio-kerosene

MPidge (September 8, 2007 at 1:35 am)

If you read Monbiot's excellent book (well sourced, but written in an accessible style) "Heat", he examines the idea of hydrogen-fuelled aircraft. Such aircraft would be larger and lighter: by necessity they would have to fly higher, increasing the contrail effect.(Biofuels are unsuitable because they typically have a higher freezing point.)

jampt1989 (September 2, 2007 at 2:13 am)

True, it is not entirely clean, and we obviously can't produce that much, but i wonder if they have considered a hydrogen powered plane or a fuel for planes that is 50% biofuel and 50% keroscene.

mickydundee (September 1, 2007 at 10:30 am)

biofuel is too heavy. the heavier the fuel the more you neeed. its also not entirely clean althouth it is renewable. it wouldnt lead to to the nessary reductions in carbon emissions and with biodiesel specifically there are problems with it using up land for food production which we will need more of as the price of oil based fertillisers and pesticides.

mcsas (July 17, 2007 at 4:51 pm)

For domestic travel we will have to rely upon conventional diesel powered trains which emit relatively few emissions per passanger mile, or busses, or personal diesel-hybrid cars.