Are low-emission planes the future of flight? Yay or nay
This is a scaled-down version of what a new 'eco friendly' jet to be used by Easyjet by 2015 could look like. As announced here last month, a new generation of turboprop (propeller) models are being developed to offer a greener if noisier solution to air travel, and this is Easyjet's offering. The budget airline leader claims that the 'eco jet' would emit 50% less CO2 and 75% less NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) than today’s newest aircraft (the 737 and A320 families of aircraft).
What makes the eco jet different from anything you'll see in the air these days it its rear-mounted turboprop engines, and is largely built of carbon composite, the material also being used in the manufacture of its main rival, Boeing's 787 "Dreamliner", which will be rolled out of the hangar in Seattle next month. But is creating models that are slightly less polluting while flight numbers continue to go skyward a realistic solution?
There is some scepicism in the blogosphere as to whether this project will actually get off the ground, and it has also been criticised by environmentalists both for its noisiness and overall claims to greenness. Both Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace have argued that emission-lowering designs such as this one will not offset the rise in flight numbers worldwide, and continuing growth of the aviation industry.
[Via Green and Hot]
