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Coconut oil powers 747
Virgin Atlantic carried out the world's first flight of a commercial
aircraft powered with biofuel in an effort to show it can produce less
carbon dioxide than normal jet fuels.
Some analysts praised the jumbo jet test flight from London to
Amsterdam as a potentially useful experiment, but others criticised it
as a publicity stunt and noted that scientists are questioning the
environmental benefits of biofuels.
"This breakthrough will help Virgin Atlantic to fly its planes using
clean fuel sooner than expected," Sir Richard Branson, the airline's
president, said before the Boeing 747 flew from London's Heathrow
Airport to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
He said the flight would provide "crucial (vital) knowledge that we
can use to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint".
The flight was partially fuelled with a biofuel mixture of coconut
and babassu oil in one of its four main fuel tanks. The jet carried
pilots and several technicians, but no passengers.
Virgin Atlantic spokesman Paul Charles predicted this biofuel would
produce much less CO2 than regular jet fuel, but said it will take weeks
to analyse the data from the flight.
"It's great that somebody like Richard is willing to put some of his
billions into an experiment aimed at reducing the climate change impact
of aviation," said James Halstead, an airline analyst at the London
stockbroker Dawnay Day Lochart.
"But there are a lot of unanswered questions about the usefulness of
biofuels in the battle against global warming," he said.
The flight is the latest example of how the world's airlines are
jumping on the environmental bandwagon by trying to find ways of
reducing aviation's carbon footprint. These efforts have included
finding alternative jet fuels, developing engines that burn existing
fuels more slowly, and changing the way planes land.
The experiment by Virgin Atlantic and its partners Boeing, General
Electric and Imperium Renewables also comes at a time when high oil
prices and the U.S. economic slowdown are promoting consolidation in the
airline industry.
Aircraft engines cause noise pollution and emit gases and
particulates that reduce air quality and contribute to global warming
and global dimming, where dust and ash from natural and industrial
sources block the Sun to create a cooling effect.
About a year ago, the European Commission, the executive of the
European Union, said greenhouse gas emissions from aviation account for
about three per cent of the total in the EU and have increased by 87 per
cent since 1990 as air travel cheapened. Charles said Virgin's Boeing
747-400 jet and its engines did not have to be redesigned to use biofuel
on the test flight.
He said CO2 emissions on a normal flight are generally three times
the fuel burned, and that technical engineers on the test flight would
take readings and analyse data to estimate its greenhouse gas emissions.
AP
Three Buddhist temples in India
Three Buddhist temples named Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, constructed
at Thiruthanni, Trichy and Chennai in India were ceremonially opened
recently. A group of Sri Lankan monks representing the three nikayas
along with some devotees participated in these ceremonies.
Arrangements were also made to plant two bo saplings from the Jayasri
Maha Bodhi, Anuradhapura at the Buddha and Dhamma Viharas. Construction
work for the three temples started in 2006 under the Sri Sambuddha
Jayanthi Bharata Dharma Yatra programme.
A new devala, modelled on the ancient Ruhunu Maha Kataragama Devala,
is also expected to be constructed at Perur, Tamil Nadu. The
construction work was inaugurated at an auspicious hour. The project
will be jointly funded by a team of devotees and Tamil businessmen in
Sri Lanka.
Island-wide waste management project
A waste management project covering the whole island will be
introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.The
project, under the title Pilisaru, is aimed at encouraging local
government authorities to play a more effective role in garbage
management.
They will get the backing of new waste management regulations in
reaching this objective.
While Rs 3,200 million has been allocated by the Treasury towards
this project, foreign funds are also expected to come in.
The Central Environment Authority will spend about one billion rupees
on this programme during this year; funds are expected from the Korean
Government as well. The sites to put up the landfills for the project
have already been identifed.
The overall programme includes composting and recycling. What is left
after garbage composting can be directed to the landfills under the
Pilisaru project.
The action plan prepared in this regard has already received the
approval of the Legal Draftsman. |