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.