States should be Made to Pay

When I read about the Paris-Toulouse flight conducted by Air France to show how much CO2 emission they can save by optimized air traffic management including continuous descent approaches, my immediate reaction was not happiness about saving the planet. No sir, my reaction was: here is the best source of funds to pay ATM developments… Continue reading States should be Made to Pay

European Parliament adopts resolution on sustainable future for transport

The European Parliament adopted in July a resolution that sets out the priorities for a sustainable European transport policy in the next ten years. The resolution puts high emphasis on a safer, cleaner and more efficient European transport system but also underlines its economic impact and need for more research. Consequently, the report gives reference… Continue reading European Parliament adopts resolution on sustainable future for transport

The rise and fall of an alien industrial spy

As soon as teleporting was perfected for the military in a far corner of the galaxy, the first assignment for the new system was to send an agent to Earth to check out the source of incessant radio noise and strange video images alternately showing humans killing each other or pairing in strange ways often involving acrobatics… Continue reading The rise and fall of an alien industrial spy

A propos volcano – Are we preparing for the wrong things?

It is amazing how easy it is to bring aviation to its knees. An errant volcano on Iceland, winds blowing in the wrong direction and air transportation in Europe and beyond comes to a grinding halt as country after country closes their airspace to protect the traveling public. Volcanic ash is very bad news for… Continue reading A propos volcano – Are we preparing for the wrong things?

Copenflop fall-out – what next?

The Copenhagen environment conference was supposed to bring solutions to the problems nearer. The conference was a complete flop, certainly in respect of aviation. Of course, trusting anything this serious to politicians is a bad idea to begin with, but this is the world we live in. We must trust them to get it right… Continue reading Copenflop fall-out – what next?

Energy, the environment and hot air

    Protecting the environment and using energy sustainably are both of great importance for Europe and the world. The SESAR Programme for ATM has, as one of its business objectives; “Reducing the environmental impact per flight by 10%”. Other European initiatives such as ACARE and Clean Sky aim at improving the efficiency and reducing… Continue reading Energy, the environment and hot air

Environment. The Copenflop – Is aviation better off now?

We all remember how seriously aviation had been preparing for the UN environmental conference held earlier this month in Copenhagen. Led by IATA, the aviation industry arrived with concrete proposals and plans which were seen by several non-aviation experts as templates suitable also for other industries. Once the conference kicked off, aviation experts must have… Continue reading Environment. The Copenflop – Is aviation better off now?

Bio is in…

One of the, perhaps not unexpected, results of the current world economic crisis is the explosive growth of corporate social responsibility. Part of this is in response to the growing demand of the general population to move from unchecked consumerism and predatory capitalism to a more sustainable and socially more equitable form of market economy.… Continue reading Bio is in…