Branson’s Virgin test flight NOT coco-nuts…
Cartoon - pen and watercolour 9″ x 12″
all artwork & content Copyright Jean Burman 2008 (C)
The engines had scarcely cooled… and the atmosphere had barely settled across the skies over Heathrow last week… before the naysayers and ne’er do wells were out in force baying at the moon. They wanted blood. They always do. But… in the fallout of mixed press reviews after last week’s historic test flight of a Virgin Atlantic 747 jumbo using an experimental biofuel made from coconuts and the brazillian babassu nut … it was headlines like
Branson’s coconut airways-but jet is on a flight to nowhere
Biofuel flight a publicity stunt
Ecoplane a dangerous Branson stunt
Virgin Atlantic bangs two halves of a coconut together and calls it biofuel
which left many readers (including this one) if not “seeing red”… then just a little “green around the gills” ~grin~
Labelled as “high altitude greenwash” by Greenpeace… and a “gimmick” by Friends of the Earth… the test flight predictably met with harsh criticism from green groups and certain areas of the media. But in my view… they missed the point.
In what was undeniably a historical small first step in the quest for cleaner skies and a brighter future for us all… Sir Richard Branson was once again at the forefront of innovation and enterprise in the ground breaking collaboration between Virgin Atlantic Boeing GE Aviation and energy company Imperium Renewables. Marlin Dailey from Boeing said:
“Today’s flight is a continuation of a journey we embarked on last year with Sir Richard and Virgin Atlantic to identify more sustainable forms of fuel for the aviation industry. Change begins with a vision. Following that, innovation and technologies are essential to proving the feasibility of renewable, alternative fuel sources for an environmentally progressive future of aviation. We commend Virgin Atlantic for their efforts to move that vision forward for the betterment of all of us.”
In acknowledging that this was just the first small step… Branson said:
“This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about reducing our carbon emissions to go on developing the fuels of the future… fuels which will power our aircraft in the years ahead through sustainable next-generation oils… such as algae.”
Clearly… this is just a start. But like all good ideas… they have to start somewhere. The first wheel may well have been “square” but it didn’t take long for us to realise that making it “round” would cause it to be a whole lot more efficient! Creative innovation and enterprise were needed to make the leap… and in the process of discovering “what will do” by first acknowledging “what won’t do”… progress was made.
It’s no different now.
We stand [excitedly] on the forefront of a new frontier. We need to develop new approaches to old challenges. New ways must be found to provide sustainable renewable sources of energy to not only power existing infrastructure… but also to power the infrastructure of the future… much of it beyond our wildest dreams at this point in time.
To this end… we need to keep an open mind as never before. We cannot go back… even though the pundits would have us believe that we should.
“Well, that settles it. We’re going to have to go back to sailing ships (but they might frighten the whales!)” - anonymous poster
But rolling back progress is not the answer. We must go forward. It’s the way of things. So instead of standing in the way of those who would go on ahead to blaze the trail for the rest of us… we should get behind them and help with the push.
And anyone who is willing to invest in excess of $3 billion dollars [and the requisite elbow grease] over the next decade to fight global warming (as Branson has pledged to do)… is worth getting behind don’t you think?
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
March 4th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
what I liked about this approach was that the experimental biofuel was not based on corn. It seems likely that making ethanol from corn gives a net INCREASE in carbon emissions.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
That’s entirely possible Roger. And besides that… corn is a food crop… and I see little future in using a potential food crop for fuel. But that’s just how I see it. There are lots of amazing plants seeds and nuts that can be grown specifically for the manufacture of biofuels… jatropha curcas… yellow horn… and (more traditionally) palm oil… to name a few. I’m sure there are many others… and even more sources yet to be discovered.
Branson made it clear that the future of biofuels would not be in the particular product he used for the test flight (coconut oil and babussa nut)… a point completely missed by sections of the media in reporting the event… with inane statements about how many coconuts it would potentially take to fly (say) from London to New York. Ridiculous.
The test flight was not about how many coconuts it would take to fuel future flights… or how many engines were used in the test… or what the ratio of biofuel to kerosene was… it was about showing the world that it COULD be done! Kind of exciting eh…
March 5th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Sorry guys… I know it’s a bit niche but the article is not so much about biofuels as it is about the need to support and encourage the people (scientists/researchers/people in the street and entrepreneurs alike) who are willing to step up to the plate in the search for answers and improve outcomes for us all.
Truth is… it was the cartoon that was BUSTING to get out! LOL The article fell out as an afterthought…
March 5th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
While working on his phd 25 to 30 years ago at University of NC, my son did research on using sunflower seed oil as a fuel and it was successful and made the news. So there must be many crops that would work. As Roger said they all have carbon emissions that would make a difference in their use.
There was much in the news here before Branson’s flight, but there has been nothing in the news that the flight even took place. I am glad to learn that it was successful. Our elections here have been getting all the news coverage. and that flight must have been hidden in the back pages.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
It’s such a shame that domestic affairs are stealing the limelight from more global issues. Ongoing news of the US Presidential elections has filtered through to our news service here as well Katherine. I guess it’s ground breaking stuff this time around… with the potential for a woman or an African American President for the very first time. But one thing we can be sure of… regardless of who gets in… they will have their work cut out for them in the years to come with the many global challenges that lie ahead. Thanks for stopping by Katherine
March 6th, 2008 at 2:16 am
Jean, It probably won’t make much difference who wins this election because there are so many problems world wide that no one in our country can solve.
No one mentions that global warming could be because the sun is shooting out “fire balls” in our direction. It was in the news a couple of days and never mentioned again. The earth has had major changes over the centuries but our use of fuels will only speed them on. It is tragic that most of our lovely lakes and rivers have become poluted by industry in the last 100 years. It really burns me when my tax dollars are used to rebuild beach property because hurricanes washed them away. How many times are we going to replace those beaches??????? only to know they will wash away again.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
QUOTE Jean, It probably won’t make much difference who wins this election because there are so many problems world wide that no one in our country can solve.UNQUOTE
You’re right Katherine… no one country will have all the answers… but maybe if the movers and shakers of many countries put their heads together… they will eventually come up with innovative solutions that will work for us all. I sometimes wonder if it will be something as basic as “survival” that will ultimately unite the peoples of the world… and resolve the issues of difference and conflict that now exist. (Ever the idealist…again! LOL) But it would be rather poetic don’t you think? *wink* LOL
I agree with you too that the earth has endured many natural changes over the millenia… and (in my view) despite all the global warming talk to the contrary… there really is no way to quantify (or qualify) to what extent humankind has contributed to these recent changes.
But I look at it this way… the changes in our environment and atmosphere are undeniable. The debate about whether climate change is man-made or naturally occurring is muddying the water… and slowing our response.
At the very heart of it… what we need is clean air to breathe… fresh water to drink… and an environment that can ensure our survival. Blind freddy can see that we have in the recent past polluted our world way beyond it’s capacity to cope. If biofuels can offer a solution to renewable energy sources and an overall reduction in carbon emissions… then I reckon we should go with it… and see where that road takes us.
Thanks for thinking about this Katherine! And thanks too for taking the time to comment… I really appreciate it.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I hope I did not give you the idea that I am not worried about what we are doing to our earth, and what is happening is getting horrible, mostly man made. I live about 4 blocks from Lake Apopka, the second largest lake in Florida (27 miles across) that used to be famous for the excellent fishing and it was a popular destination during the winter for “snowbirds”. Within the last 50 years it became poluted by fertilizers and bug killers used by farmers on the north side of the lake and an orange juice concentration plant that dumped it’s refuge there. Now millions of tax dollars are being used to try to bring it back to the way it should be without much luck.
Every one seems to be “trying to keep up with the neighbors by buying expensive huge gas guzzling cars, bigger homes, etc. They are not interested in car pooling, riding public busing transportation and here in Florida fight against building such fuel saving things so every family has at least 2 cars. The roads are crowded and treacherous to drive especially during the winter and summer when we have many tourists.
I admired Jimmy Carter (president in the 70’s) when he convinced the public to reduce the speed limit to 55 mph and to buy cars that used less gas. It worked for about 15 years and forgotten. We need that inspiration again. I still stick to his idea of a small, low gas consuming car.
I’m all for any solution that biofuels can bring about, but also the public needs to take some responsibility and limit their use of them too. Bring on any new method that cuts the use of oil, coal, etc. and let’s hope the “sheep” will buy it. My friends say they love their big cars and don’t want to give them up because they feel safer driving and riding in them.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Hi Jean! Just popping my head in through the door to say hello!!!! I am using someone elses ‘puter at the moment, so cannot loiter..just letting you know!
March 7th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
QUOTE I hope I did not give you the idea that I am not worried about what we are doing to our earthUNQUOTE
Oh no Katherine… on the contrary!
I’m so happy to find a kindred spirit who truly understands the challenges we face! You hit the nail on the head completely… that each of us needs to take responsibility in our own little patch… buying smaller more fuel efficient cars and doing what we can to be conservative in our consumption of goods and services. I wonder how the population can be convinced to do that? I guess while car makers continue to build gas guzzlers people will continue to buy them. Especially if the neighbours have one! LOL
Looking back on it I think my Dad was a man ahead of his time! He was forever telling us to switch off the lights when we left the room! We always wondered what he was on about… now we know… all these years later as the chickens come home to roost! LOL He was the original new age dad… and he must have been the original new age environmentalist too (in his own quiet way!) ~grin~
March 7th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Hi Jools… where have you been… we missed your smiley face! Thanks for popping in. I received your email and hope it won’t be too long before things are sorted out. Will email you later… hang in there kiddo
March 10th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Thanks Jean.. big hello to everyone else too!!!
March 10th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
An old classmate on mine has worked for the EPA for most of his life. He sends me updates on his work. He travels all of the world……the north pole, the south pole, the top of the volcano in Hawaii,the Everglades in FL, the tropical forests in So. America, etc. to test emissions of various gases in those locations every year. In some of the tests they use a blimp over power plants using all kinds of different methods of producing power. He loves his work and even though he is past retirement age prefers to keep on working as he is so interested in what the results will be each year and it shows that we are for sure melting the ice on both the north and south poles and killing the trees in the Black Forest in Germany….and other areas. Despite the results of their findings, very few in the government seem to be doing much to reverse the damage being done. Some call him a “tree hugger” and make fun of the work and just keep on driving those gas guzzling cars.
I am old enough to remember staying as a child in the early 1930’s with my grandparents on their farm before people had electricity and running water. I wonder how this generation would survive without the modern conveniences. I would not know how to get along without them after being spoiled by having them for so many years.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I hope some of my posts resulted in no one else posting. Doesn’t anyone else have any opinions on this problem?
March 13th, 2008 at 9:32 am
So sorry to leave you dangling Katherine!
I’ve been having a few computer/connection problems over the past couple of days and haven’t yet got to the bottom of it. The problem seems to be intermittent and consequently difficult for the technicians to pinpoint. Hopefully it will disappear from whence it came… which is often the way of modern electronics!
Which brings me to your post… and the “purported” benefits of all the labour-saving devices we simply cannot live without! Anyone else noticed how much time and upkeep all this labour saving stuff needs? LOL Electronic stuff is the worst… which whilst being a godsend when it’s working can be a right royal pain the posterior portion when it doesn’t. And so often it doesn’t. Especially on rainy days. Or when a mean wind is blowing from the east and we aren’t holding our mouth exactly right. LOL
Your friend sounds like a dedicated man… we need more of them… men and women who are willing to meet the environmental challenges head on and examine the impacts we are more than certainly having upon our now fragile earth.
Thanks for your valued input Katherine!
March 14th, 2008 at 4:56 am
Coming in late on a topic isn’t easy…. so much to think about and potentially respond to.
But….
I know what you mean about the cartoon, Jean. First of all, I love this one, as I do all of yours. My blog is, as far as I’m concerned, primarily about my cartoons. My commentary is an early morning afterthought, sometimes a rant, sometimes a head clearing, sometimes a ramble.
Regarding Branson and visionaries, I agree with you in essence, and yet a part of me doesn’t know what “progress” means. Certainly the folks that have brought us the computer and the Internet have created something exceptional, the biggest revolution in human communication since moveable type. And the ability to travel long distances quickly is amazing. Progress can’t be stopped, both the progress that brings us bigger and faster, and the progress that brings us safer and more ecologically friendly, but I fear that at the same time we lose something, the ability to stop and reflect, the empathy for the suffering of others, the appreciation of the beauty that’s close at hand. The bilions that get thrown at technology and “solutions” benefit only a small percentage of the earth’s people. It doesn’t need to be that way, but that’s how it is. I can’t help but feel that there are ways Branson and other so-called visionaries like him could spend money that would really result in a better future.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Thanks John
You’re right of course. Progress is a double edged sword… which bears with it the responsibility to handle it wisely. To date… (esp. over the past century) I would venture to say that we haven’t been entirely up to the task… racing ahead into technologies and advances where we have little knowledge or understanding of the consequences or long term impacts.
Because progress is for the most part money driven… I guess this situation will not change anytime soon. I especially share your concerns for the collective loss of “mindfulness” and empathy… (the ability to put oneself into another’s shoes)… and the inability to appreciate beauty at the fundamental level. These are the sweet things in life that no amount of money could ever buy.
But it is heartening to see men such as Richard Branson making (in my view) the right kind of progress. And he appears to share our view.
“Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won’t make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa – it’s about getting a balance” - Richard Branson
QUOTE I can’t help but feel that there are ways Branson and other so-called visionaries like him could spend money that would really result in a better future UNQUOTE
Gosh isn’t this a bit like saying to Fred Astaire… “well Fred… we all know you can dance… but can you sing?” LOL
Sheesh… what are we asking for? The guy comes along with “nothing”… works his backside off around the clock… takes risks no-one else would… almost goes to the wall… finally makes good… and almost goes to the wall again… then makes good again… and we say to him… “now that you’ve finally made it… you should do the right thing and hand it over to those less fortunate” *sigh* [Having said that... I don't doubt that Branson would be the first to offer it... if he thought for a moment... that throwing billions of dollars at a problem (poverty) that has already absorbed billions of dollars without resolution... would be a good moral investment in a better future for the people concerned]
Instead… (besides other things)… he has “invested in education programs supporting the ground-breaking CIDA University in Johannesburg South Africa which provides higher education for poor black youngsters” and includes the Branson School of Entrepreneurship to promote business skills and entrepreneurial flair amongst students. This includes the “university in a box” initiative which takes higher education to young people in outlying rural areas… making the dream of a better life a more than real prospect for many of them.
It is an undeniable truth that Sir Richard Branson is first and foremost an entrepreneur… and perhaps only a philanthropist second… but what comes first the chook or the egg? Without his considerable energy, wit, enthusiasm, industry and involvement with people and projects… the world would be a much poorer place… and I mean that in more than just the material sense.
At the heart of it… his enthusiasm and enterprise have provided jobs… livelihoods… opportunities… and inspiration for people from all walks of life… all over the planet. He is living proof that if you can dream it you can do it… and the “hope” that one single notion gives… could fuel our dreams for generations to come. I hope it does.
Clearly… a fan… (((chuckles)))
Oops… sorry all… eek it’s a novel (!)
alights from her soapbox and exits stage left… ~grin~