MIT Designs Environmental Friendly NASA Plane

Air travel is one of the popular ways to get around in the country, but unfortunately airplanes are also some of the most polluting modes of transportation. The popularity of air travel and the pollution they cause is one of the major factors of affecting climate change and is a concern for the environment as a whole. This is why so many have been trying to create and design aircraft that would be a functional transport while also being environmentally friendly. It now looks like researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may have done just that.

MIT researchers have designed a 180-passenger aircraft that they hope will one day take over for the Boeing 737 aircraft that is currently being used for domestic flights. The design incorporates partial cylinders, which help power the plane from the plane’s tail rather than the plane’s wings like most commercial airliners. This is where the environmental progress comes in for the aircraft. By having the engines located on the back of the plane rather than the wings, the researchers at MIT changed the design of the aircraft to have less drag on the plane which gives the plane better fuel economy. This ultimately cuts down on the amount of emissions the plane puts out into the atmosphere.

Currently, these planes are being tested by NASA and don’t seem to be taking off from any runway for at-least several years. However, if they are implemented, it’s another step in the right direction.

Techniques to Clean The Gulf

When the Deep Horizon oil rig exploded and sunk into the ocean, millions of gallons of oil seeped into the clear blue ocean of the Gulf of Mexico. Some environmentalists are touting this as the worst disaster in the history of oil drilling ahead of the Exxon Valdez disaster. However, many are also doing whatever they can to stop the oil from spreading even more so in the gulf. Since the sinking of the rig, cleaning crews have gone into high gear to prevent any more of the ocean’s environment from being affected and are using many different techniques to clean up.

One of the ways that the cleaning crews are working to stop the spill from further spreading in the ocean is utilizing a containment dome. A containment dome is a 40-foot tall coffer dam that will be put over the leaking areas of the pipeline. This would hopefully plug the pipe and capture any remaining oil that is still leaking out.

Another way they are trying to clean up the oil is by pouring chemicals over the spill site. Now, while this sounds like putting out fire with gasoline, which will just make things worse, most of the chemicals being spilled into the site are no more harmless than laundry detergent. What these chemicals would do is break up the oil and help the major spill areas from completely changing the environment of the ocean.

Cleaning crews are doing whatever they can to help protect the Gulf and are using every innovative technique they can think of.   Getting this spill cleaned quickly and efficiently is a number 1 priority.  One can bet that fellow Democratic citizens and green design pioneers like Niranjan Shah will be supporting the President to revisit his oil drilling policy and redirect the resources towards a clean energy initiative instead.  While new initiatives will most likely focus on hybrid automobile technology to reduce our dependence on oil, perhaps business owners like Niranjan Shah that operate in the architectural engineering industry will see policies that will be beneficial to their mission.

Earth Day Reminds Us That The Technology Of The Future Is Most Likely Green

40 years ago, Earth Day was created in order to bring awareness and even a little bit of love and appreciation towards the blue and green marble that we all call home. Over time the holiday has changed from a day of education to a day of action with many groups coming together to do what they can to help the environment. Over the last couple of years, when the climate change and global warming discussion heating up, Earth Day has even taken up a new mantle as a day in which many people and organizations have come together to not do something beneficial for today, but also to take action towards a sustainable future.

When it comes to green initiatives, some green technologies stand out as resources that will help protect the earth and lead engineering and technology into a clean green future. Some of these ideas have been around for decades and some our new innovations that stand at the forefront of what can be done. Solar Power, as an example, has been around since the 1970′s turning the energy from the sun into electricity. However, now it’s affordable and popular enough that it’s giving a much-needed boost to clean energy installation around the country. Wind power, the most widespread green energy, has also been around for a long time but is now finally making an impact on the world going green. If wind energy is incorporated into energy plans it can eliminate much of the carbon emission output while being both cheap and useful. Yet, these technologies have been around for years and don’t even scratch the surface of the innovations that are on the way like full on electric cars, waste management plants that convert energy from garbage, and many others.

Earth Day may have been conceived as a day for environmental education but it has grown into a day for environmental innovation.

National Polls Show Economy As Bigger Concern Over Environment

While climate change and global warming are both serious national issues, a new poll shows that Americans are focusing their concern on the broken economy and the unemployment rate. This is tough news for environmentalist groups that were excited about the momentum the green movement received when the Obama administration took over.  While health care reform caused energy policy to play second fiddle at Congressional hearings, apparently the environment is taking a backseat to new jobs policies as well.  It’s a discouraging uphill battle for conservationists, however, it’s not all that bad.  New jobs can come hand in hand with a decision to mass produce green technology.  However, until any energy policy bill is passed, the latest polls favor the decision for new jobs, and the opinion is indifferent of the industry they may come from.

According to a national poll taken by CNN, 51% of Americans say that the economy is a bigger concern than the changing environment and climate. This number is much higher than the 37% who felt the economy was the bigger concern back in 2006 before the recession.  It’s tough to pass green energy policy when more than half of Americans feel it should happen after the economy can be fixed and employment can return.