Australian pilot Jeremy Rowsell is set to break new boundaries for alternative energy by flying from Australia to Britain in an airplane powered entirely by plastic waste. Rowsell’s “Wings of Waste” Cessna plane will fly from Sydney to London via Asia, the Middle East, and Europe using fuel refined from “end-of-life” materials such as plastic bags and other refuse that would otherwise wind up in landfills.

Read the rest of Plastic Waste-Powered Airplane to Fly 10,500 Miles from Sydney to London

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Post tags: aviation fuel, Cessna, hydrocarbons, jeremy rowsell, landfill, pacific garbage patch, plastic bags, plastic recycling, pyrolysis, solar impulse

Read the rest of Smart Collaborates with Designer Jeremy Scott to Fashionize the Electric Car

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Post tags: "design collaboration", car manufacturer, electric car, electric motor, fashion collaboration, fashion designer, Fuel Efficient, inhabitat, Jeremy Scott, Katy Perry and Rihanna, Lady Gaga, lithium ion battery, Los Angeles, madonna, new york city, new york fashion week, New York., ny fashion week, NYFW, smart car, Smart forjeremy, Smart ForTwo, sustainable design, sustainable driving, zero-emissions

Scientists at Newcastle University have discovered a way of capturing carbon dioxide inspired by the technique sea urchins use to grow their shell. The creatures absorb carbon dioxide and combine it with the high concentrations of nickel in their exoskeletons to create calcium carbonate. The research reveals a potential model for an an alternative, more effective carbon capture and storage system than currently used methods.

Read the rest of Sea Urchins’ Nickel Nanoparticles Could Hold the Key to Carbon Capture

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Post tags: biomimicry, carbon capture and storage systems, carbon emissions, carbon into chalk, environmental destruction, green research, green technology, nanotechnology, Newcastle University study, nickel nano-particles, scientific studies, sea urchin carbon capture

Arizona-based PhotonFlightTeam has unveiled plans for a lightweight, solar-powered airship that would be a more sustainable and cost effective alternative to airplanes. The team is raising funds with a newly launched IndieGoGo campaign that would allow them to test the prototypes and proceed to more advanced stages of design.

Read the rest of PhotonFlightTeam Start Fundraising Campaign to Build a Solar-Powered Airship Made from Recycled Aluminium

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Post tags: airship prototypes, aluminium airship, blimp design, fundraising, green design, green transportation, indiegogo campaign, PhotonFlightTeam, recycled materials vehicles, Solar cells, solar-powered airships, zero-emission airships, zero-emission flight

SolarWorld and PC-Aero‘s Elektra One Solar Plane harnesses energy from the sun to help it fly with zero-emissions. We covered the maiden flight of the solar plane in the past, and Elektra One just debuted an awesome new accessory at the ILA Berlin Air Show – a mobile electric charging station that represents a major step forward for the the aircraft’s goals of zero emission flying and energy autonomy.

Read the rest of Elektra One Solar Plane Now Comes With its Own Photovoltaic Charging Trailer

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Post tags: "solar energy", aero-pic, elektra one solar plane, mobile electric charging station, solar aircraft, solar impulse, solar plane, Solar Power, SolarWorld

Sometimes nature just does it better. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus recently released their vision for the future sustainable aviation, and part of that vision includes flying jets in the same formation as a flock of birds, an idea which would reduce energy use and carbon emissions.

Read the rest of Air Travel is Going to the Birds – Airbus Announces Fuel-Efficient Flight Formations

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Post tags: air fuel consumption, air travel impact, airbus, Airbus France, reducing emissions, reducing travel footprint, sustainable flying, travel conservation ideas

China’s industrial growth has really taken off in the last decade – and new research shows that the per capita emissions of the world’s most populated country are now almost on a par with the European average. While the title of the world’s large emitter has fluctuated between the US and China over the past few years, China’s emissions per person have always been lower than those in other developed countries – however it now looks like that is about to change.

Read the rest of Average Chinese Citizen’s Carbon Footprint is Now Equal to the Average European’s

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Post tags: airline emissions, carbon footprint, china emissions, china industrial growth, Climate Change, CO2 emissions, emission goals, emission reduction, European emissions

Following the maiden flight of their Elektra One electric plane, SolarWorld and PC-Aero have unveiled a new solar-powered version that gives the small plane twice the range of the electric version. The Elektra One Solar plane features solar cells on the wing surfaces that harness energy from the sun to provide zero-emissions flying with lower operating costs and less noise.

Read the rest of New Elektra One Solar Plane Flies Twice as Far as the Original

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Post tags: eco airplane, electric airplane, elektra, elektra one, Elektra One Solar, elektra plane, green plane, green transportation, PC Aero, solar airplane, solar plane, Solar Power, SolarWorld, zero-emissions

The three major players in airplane manufacturing — Boeing, Airbus and Embraer — have announced an unlikely and exciting partnership to develop affordable biofuel technology which could be adopted industry wide. The partnership intends to develop “drop in technology” which would ideally enable any existing aircraft to fly on biofuels. The endeavor falls in line with growing demands from airline operators and governments to find ways to lower air travel’s significant carbon footprint.

Read the rest of Boeing, Airbus and Embraer Partner to Develop Affordable Biofuels

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Post tags: affordable bio fuels, airline biofuel, airline cooking oil, aviation biofuel, aviation fuel, boeing air, conteniental biofuel, embraer airbus, eu cap and trade, eucalypus biofuel, paulo cesar silva, plane biofuel conversaion

The United Kingdom has given the green light to the first phase of its proposed High Speed Two train line. In response to environmental concerns, the route for HS2 will now include extra tunneling in the first 90 miles, so not to disrupt the natural beauty of the English countryside. The first phase will connect London to Birmingham and could be functional by 2026.

Read the rest of UK Green Lights First Phase of High Speed Rail Line HS2

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Post tags: campaign for better transport, eco design, green design, green transportation, high speed rail, high speed rail england, high speed rail uk, High Speed Two, HS2, hs2 high speed rail, Justine Greening, London to Birmingham, sustainable design

As part of the government’s push to wean the United States off of foreign oil, the US Department of Defense in coordination with the US Department of Agriculture just announced the largest single government purchase of biofuels in history. The 450,000 gallons of biofuel to be purchased are coming from non-food sources and will fuel aircraft and ships during an annual training exercise off the coast of Hawaii next summer. The group of ships using the 50/50 biofuel and petroleum blend will be called the Green Strike Group demonstration.

Read the rest of US Defense Logistics Agency Makes Single Largest Gov. Purchase of Advanced Drop-In Biofuels Ever

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Post tags: airplane biofuels, Alternative Fuel, biofuel cost, biofuel for aviation, biofuel navy, biofuel plants, biofuel sources, biofuel subsidy, biofuels, cooking oil biofuel, drop in, drop in biofuels, government biofuel, low emissions fuel, military biofuel, non food source biofuel, plants for biofuel, sustainable fuel, used cooking oil

Israel’s El Al Airlines is planning to outfit 20 of their Boeing 737 airplanes with electric drive units from WheelTug that will provide power for the planes to taxi while on the ground. Though these hybrid devices will not assist when the plane is in flight, they will cut the need for the nearly 2 gallons of gas used per minute by airplanes taxiing while using their jet engines. The WheelTug units run off of the plane’s auxiliary power unit and will also remove the need for other vehicles to tow airplanes to and from gates at airports. WheelTug says the system cuts 85% of fuel use while planes are grounded.

Read the rest of El Al Airlines to Launch Hybrid-Electric Boeing 737 Airplanes

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Post tags: air travel, boeing 737, El Al airlines, green airplane, green travel options, hybrid electric 737, hybrid electric airplane, low emissions airplane, reduced emissions, sustainable travel options

Yesterday, American Airlines completed the world’s first commercial biofuel flight by traveling from Houston to Chicago powered by a mix of 40% Solazyme algae biofuels and 60% traditional jet fuels. Tomorrow, Alaska Airlines will attempt a similar feat, flying 75 planes with a 20% cooking oil biofuel blend. The flights are impressive, but more surprising is the news that they’ve become something of an industry scandal – insiders claim that American Airlines heard of Alaska’s plans and rushed to beat them in becoming the first airline to go green with biofuels. So what is the real impact of these flights?

Read the rest of American and Alaska Airlines Complete World’s First Commercial Biofuel Flights

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Post tags: Alaska Airlines biofuel, alternative transportation, American Airlines biofuel, biofuel flight, eco-friendly plane, first U.S., green airplane, green transportation, world's first commercial biofuel flight, world's firts

This crazy Airborne Metro, if ever built, could reduce emissions from air travel 80% by revolutionizing the way we fly. The giant, 3,000 passenger craft is a nuclear powered airport and shuttle in the sky that allows smaller aircraft to bypass making long distance flights by landing on its back and dropping passengers off. In the future, the designers of this massive hunk of steel envision passengers taking regular jets from the ground to Airborne Metro, and then having the Airborne Metro make the long haul to a far off population hub where passengers hop onto regular jets that shuttle them to their final destinations.

Read the rest of Airborne Metro: A Giant Nuclear-Powered Airport That Flies 3,000 Passengers Across the Sky

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Post tags: airborne metro, green airplane, green flying, green transportation, innovative transportation, low emissions airplane, nuclear airplane, nuclear power, nuclear powered flight, nuclear powered transportation, sustainable airplane

People have talked about building futuristic airships for zero emissions cargo shipping for a long time, but most of these green blimps remain on the drawing board. One company, SolarShip, has taken the steps to bring its vision of a green shipping future to life by conducting the initial test flights for its solar helium plane. The prototype blends the concepts of airships and airplanes by placing a blimp lined with solar panels over an airplane cockpit and landing gear, and using solar power to propel the plane into the air. SolarShip plans to build three sizes of this ship: the small Caracal, the mid-size Chui, and the 30-tonne cargo hauler Nanuq. It appears to be the mid-sized Chui in the test flight video below.

Read the rest of SolarShip’s Solar Cargo Helium Plane Is a Futuristic Airship That Actually Exists

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Post tags: alternative transportation, green airship, green logistics, green plane design, green shipping, green transportation, helium blimp, helium blimp plane, solar blimp, solar plane, Solar Ship, SolarShip, SolarShip helium plane, zero emissions cargo plane, zero emissions shipping

Airline mogul and billionaire Richard Branson just announced that in three years Virgin Atlantic airplanes will be fueled by waste gas from power plants, steel works, and aluminum plants. Within 24 months the company will be able to take waste gas from these industrial sites and turn it into aviation fuel for their commercial airplanes. The process will reduce the carbon footprint of Virgin’s airplanes by as much as 50 percent.

Read the rest of Virgin Atlantic Announces Plans to Fuel Airplanes With Waste Gas

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Post tags: carbon offsets, green aviation, green jet fuel, jet fuel, low emissions jet fuel, Richard Branson, sustainable jet fuel, Virgin America, virgin atlantic, virgin atlantic sustainability

.35 Million in NASA/Google Green Flight Challenge" src="http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/10/Pipstrel-Green-Flight-6-537x392.jpg" alt="pipstrel usa, taurus electro, electric taurus, electric airplane, electrified airplane, google challenge, nasa challenge, green flight challenge, green airplane, sustainable transportation, green transportation, low emissions airplane" width="537" height="392" />

The Google-sponsored NASA Centennial Challenge Competition just awarded the largest aviation prize in history to Pipstrel USA of State College! The competition, better known as the Green Flight Challenge, awarded Pipstrel USA $1.35 million for flying over 200 miles on a single gallon of gas per occupant (or equivalent electricity) – in fact, Pipstrel USA and the second place team EGenius both doubled the fuel efficiency that the competition required.

Read the rest of Pipstrel USA Wins $1.35 Million in NASA/Google Green Flight Challenge

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Post tags: electric airplane, electric taurus, electrified airplane, google challenge, green airplane, green flight challenge, green transportation, low emissions airplane, nasa challenge, pipstrel usa, sustainable transportation, taurus electro

Pipistrel just rolled out the world’s most powerful electric aircraft — and it’s the first to seat four people. The Taurus G4 required two years of preparation and development, but took just four months to build. Its uniquely aerodynamic design connects two Taurus G2 lightweight gliders with a 15 ft. wide electric engine.

Read the rest of Pipistrel Introduces The World’s Most Powerful Electric Airplane

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Post tags: 2011 CAFE/NASA challenge, aircraft, airplane, brushless electric motor, CAFE challenge, CAFE cruiser, Climate Change, CO2, eco design, eco habitat, eco-conscious, eco-friendly, electric airplane, electric vehicle, emissions, Environment, environmental design, ev, EV aircraft, EV concept, green design, green infrastructure, green living, green technology, green transportation, infrastructure, pipistrel, Slovenia, sustainable design, sustainable living, Taurus G2, Taurus G4

From the Elektra One electric airplane to Siemens’ plug-in hybrid aircraft, we’ve been seeing a lot of eco-friendly airplanes lately. While we love any airplane that doesn’t spew massive amounts of carbon emissions, the fact is that most planes are still gas-guzzling beasts, which is why search giant Google has teamed up with NASA to sponsor the NASA Centennial Challenge competition (a.k.a. the Green Flight Challenge). Google is working with aircraft technology research group CAFE Foundation to find a winning design that shows emission-free flights are not only practical, but entirely possible. The first place team will take home a whopping $1.3 million, the largest ever in civilian aviation.

Read the rest of Google & NASA Partner to Host Green Flight Challenge With $1.65 Million Prize

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Post tags: biofuel airplanes, cafe foundation, eco airplanes, electric airplanes, Google, google and nasa, google flight challenge, google green flight challenge, green airplanes, green flight, green flight challenge, green transportation, hybrid airplanes, nasa, NASA Centennial Challenge competition, nasa flight challenge, nasa green flight challenge, sustainable transportation

Aircraft are responsible for a staggering 11% of the United States’ CO2 emissions, however a lot of work is being done to make them more environmentally friendly. Plane designers are doing everything from developing biofuels and more efficient engines to experimenting with lighter construction materials. A recent report from energyNOW! correspondent Josh Zepps reveals the innovations that aviation designers are pursuing to make flying as green as possible.

Read the rest of How Green Design Will Propel the Planes Of The 21st Century

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Post tags: 21st century planes, aviation fuel, biofuel aviation, biofuel aviations, boeing, FAA, nasa, nasa planes, next generation aviation materials, next generation planes, nextgen, PRSEUS