Why is it that no one is talking about alternative fuels for airplanes and ships?

Question

All anyone ever talks about are car emissions. The first thing to go green is usually public transit like buses and sometimes electric rail. Well, what about airplane emissions and ship emissions?

You do know that airplanes put ozone into the atmosphere, right? Only in the wrong level of the atmosphere?

Answer 1

Because they already use the most efficient and most widely available fuel.

If you changed airplane fuel to something new, you would have to make it available at every airport throughout the world. That would be extremely expensive and, in some areas, not very cost effective. To get the new fuel to every airport you would need an entirely new global distribution system to be developed and implemented overnight. Airplanes aren't going to just fly around town. What if some countries, let's say Iran an Brazil, decide that they aren't going to participate? You then need special "old fuel" panes to fly to those countries.

With cars or public transportation you can start out in a small area where the new fuel is readily available. The system can then slowly expand and develop as usage expands. No multi-country cooperation and ridiculously huge outlay of cash is needed.

Answer 2

In cities a local environmental consideration (air quality) is an extra driver for developments. In aircraft and ships there have been improvements in design which reduce emissions but these are incremental and not based on fundamental changes. For safety reasons reliability is very important and in both these forms of transport extra bulk and weight has a large effect on performance and costs. I guess also the question of international cooperation arises.

Answer 3

to respond to your question sure, and between the very exciting issues that are being worked on is electrically powered flight. even as image voltaic cells do no longer paintings for automobiles very well the better floor of plane wings elements a diverse type of situation. it really is very real the position the plane is flying above any cloud conceal. what is going to pressure this progression is the aptitude mark downs in employing a plane that could want to stay aloft indefinitely to modify satellites. what's needed is an potential storage device to potential the craft in the time of nighttime time use. potential elements have come and lengthy gone. Petroleum is in straight forward words the present and it gained't very last always. different options would properly be developed. imagine an electric powered prepare that could want to pass from city to city swifter than the present air craft. imagine ships that could want to commute the oceans employing little or no gas. this is all accessible and we are no longer in possibility of determining of oil quickly. inspite of if oil has peaked it in straight forward words signifies that a million/2 the low-priced stuff has been extracted.

Answer 4

They don't talk about alternative fuels for airplanes or ships because no one care. No one cares about alternative fuels for cars either, except us lowly peons that are having to pay the high gas prices. The oil companies and their lobbiest sure don't want us to talk about alternative fuels for any mode of transportation!! All they want to do is line their pockets with our money!!!!!

Answer 5

With airplanes, there is an issue of safety.
Ships are already the cheapest way of moving cargo, so their pollution per ton-mile is already lowest.

And generally, smaller engines pollute more (per gallon of fuel used) than larger ones. It is more efficient to have fuel burn more completely, but requires more expensive engine. In small cars it is just not worth it.

Answer 6

Because making Jet fuel takes so much more then to make gasoline. Pure ethane is not effective it needs gas. This is why we see more bio fuels to be 85% gas and `15% bio fuel. I think we need to focus on one topic at a time. If we make breakthroughs then we can move onto planes.

Answer 7

The alternative fuels for airplanes and ships are being developed from cow dung.

Answer 8

Mostly because cars and trucks use most of the fuel. Once cars and trucks convert to alternative fuels, ships and planes will follow.

Answer 9

Good question. Every time gas goes up, the media rolls out the ethanol stories. I am so sick of hearing about ethanol. We need another solution. We are technological capable...but too greedy and self-serving to really come up with a solution until all the gas and coal is really gone.

Answer 10

You answered your own question: we can hardly get anyone to think about cars and emissions, let alone trrains and boats and planes.