Exciting news: soon we will be flying sustainably. Visits to snowy Northern Hemisphere mountains and glaciers could be possible without the sickening sense that we've hastened their melting.
Slow down. Aviation still burns a lot of oil. Despite recent news of funding to scrutinise the feasibility of Kiwi-made sustainable aviation fuel, guilt-free flying is far from imminent. That's according to recent publications co-authored by Robert McLachlan, an applied mathematician at Massey University who specialises in mathematical modelling.
The international aviation industry is aiming for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and last year published Making Net-Zero Aviation Possible, An industry-backed, 1.5°C-aligned transition strategy. It offers mostly techno-fixes: fuel efficiency, sustainable aviation fuel and aircraft powered by batteries or hydrogen.
Rousing publicity accompanies the prospect of electric and hydrogen-powered planes even though they're predicted to account for only 11% of the 2050 goal. They scarcely feature until 2040 and only tiny electric planes yet exist.
Esta historia es de la edición July 8 - 14, 2023 de New Zealand Listener.
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Esta historia es de la edición July 8 - 14, 2023 de New Zealand Listener.
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A hint of mermaids
Erin Palmisano's latest novel once again has food and romance at the heart of its well-plotted story.
Execution over innovation
Big and bold ideas are fine, but being the best beats being first.
Something's wrong with all of them
Engaging dissection of the 20th-century novel likely to send the reader in search for the book under discussion.
Cell warfare
A NZ trial using immunotherapy to beat a form of blood cancer is expanding after promising results – and it's hoped the 'gold standard' treatment will soon be widely available.
The virus that stole all the smells
In this edited extract from The Forgotten Sense, Jonas Olofsson traces the rise in anosmia as a result of Covid-19 infections.
When caring is ‘woke'
Some years ago, I sat in a small plane circling over Punta del Este in Uruguay. There was a delay and we sat in tense silence until we began our descent. Outside the tiny airport, a taxi ferried us past private Lear jets; these had been the cause of the hold-up. The driver pointed to two planes side by side. \"This one is a Trump plane.\"
Getting along swimmingly
The presenters of Endangered Species Aotearoa spend a fair bit of time on and in the water in the second season.
That clingy feeling
Our pets display the same types of attachment behaviours as we do, or so it seems.
The famous furred
A peaceful little spot in LA is the final resting place for the pets of some of Hollywood's biggest names.
Gone girl
She wandered in on Thursday morning looking very wan, and climbed into her bed. I sat on the edge and stroked her back.
