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Pilot points to airline policy of wasting fuel
James Howard Kunstler, The Daily Grunt on Kunstler’s blog
An interesting letter I got from an employee of British Airways. . . .
As a pilot for a scheduled airline I would like to say the following. The reason we have so many delays is that we are basically trying to fit a quart into a pint pot. The airline business is a vastly complex ballet that requires much time, effort, and money to work properly. Money the airlines don’t have. So they try and “sweat the assets” [planes and people] as much as possible in an attempt to stay solvent.
Yes we work to a schedule but it is now so tight that the slightest problem has a exponential knock-on effect. As I sit in yet another queue for departure [number 20 or 30 is not unusual], I ponder on the futility of the companies’ latest efforts to save fuel against this backdrop of inefficiency. We use 3000kgs [about 4000 litres] an hour in the air and about one third of that figure sitting on the ground. Add the number of planes together and multiply by the average time spent waiting to depart.
Funnily enough when we get to our destination we usually enter a holding pattern for between 10 and 30 minutes.
I won’t bore you with the details but airlines are fully aware of the cost implications of additional fuel-burn due to delays but seem reluctant to actually tackle the real cause. So we get endless memos about how we can save 50kg’s here and another 100kg’s there whilst at the same time wasting 1000’s….personally it drives me nuts.
Anyway, this problem will probably be self-correcting in the short term as fuel costs increase and fewer aircraft make it into the skies on a daily basis.
We grounded Concorde because of the fuel costs, it looks like the B747 [Jumbo] may be next. The “great white hope” is the new B787…twin jets are getting increasingly popular for this very reason, coincidence?
Looking forward to the new book.
“A Pilot”
London [not far from the airport]
(16 October 2007)
Wheels of Fortune (Bicycle Neglect #10)
Alan Durning, Sightline
A decade ago, we wrote that the bicycle is one of the world’s seven everyday wonders because it’s so simple, effective, affordable, and pollution-free. To that list, we might have added “enriching.”
Bicycling for transportation pumps money into local economies. Bikes are wheels of fortune. (Thanks to Flickr photographer hanbyholems for the above picture.) If your community spends money building bikeways, you and your neighbors will cycle more. Your cycling will put extra money in the local economy. (I’ll explain how in a moment.) The extra money will make the community rich enough to pay for more bikeways. More bikeways will induce more cycling, and the virtuous circle will continue.
Let’s break the process into steps.
(18 October 2007)
After Cyclist’s Death, Activists and Portland Aim for Safety
Scott Moore, Portland Mercury (Oregon)
As the sun set over the Alexis Greek Restaurant at 2nd and W Burnside on Friday evening, October 12, hundreds of cyclists gathered across the street, at the foot of the Burnside Bridge, and waited.
At 6:30 pm, ride organizer Carl Larson commandeered an orange PDX Pedicab, and stood on it to address the crowd, now nearly 400 strong.
“Thanks a lot for being here,” Larson said. “I’m a cyclist, and I felt it was important to do this ride… Portland is an amazing city for riding bikes in.” However, the tragic death of a 19-year-old art student the day before-Tracey Sparling was crushed by a cement truck at 14th and W Burnside-“reminds us that we’re not safe from everything,” Larson added.
Larson stepped aside, and Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) Executive Director Scott Bricker hopped up on the pedicab, holding his baby daughter. He pointed out that until his daughter turns 35, she’s at a greater risk of dying from an automobile crash than from any other reason.
Tragedies like “what we saw on the road yesterday,” Bricker said, “need to be clearly and smartly addressed.”
Friday night’s ride-from the Burnside Bridge, up to 14th, where a white ghost bike marks the site of Sparling’s death-was the first step.
“The more bicyclists that ride, the safer bicycling is,” Bricker explained. “Portland has become, every year for the past 15 years, a safer place to ride a bicycle, because bicycle riding is increasing at an exponential rate. This is important for all of us, and it’s important for you to be here tonight. The community awareness and action around the tragedies that happen… is an essential part of Portland’s bicycle culture.
(18 October 2007)
The dangers of autobesity
Steve Hiniker, Milwaukee
Face it. We have a driving problem, and it’s killing us.
We are addicted to driving, and we are in denial about it. We lash out at those who bring it to our attention and label them as “anti-car.” Unfortunately, that is about as constructive as labeling a doctor as “anti-food” if that doctor recommends a diet.
The signs of autobesity are everywhere. If miles were calories, we would be in intensive care. Last year, Wisconsinites racked up an unbelievable 60 billion miles behind the wheel. Each one of us drove, on average, twice as many miles as drivers 25 years ago. We spend, on average, $7,000 a year per car on our addiction – plus parking costs.
Our driving addiction is costing us lives, dollars and destroyed communities every day. In Wisconsin, there is a motor vehicle crash once every five minutes, an injury every 14 minutes and a fatality every 11 hours. We use euphemisms to rationalize the horrible side effects of driving. Though we refer to car crashes as “accidents,” almost all car crashes are avoidable events.
Like most addictions, we are often oblivious to the consequences our habit has on others. Motor vehicles are the principal cause of ozone air pollution and contribute to about one-third of our global warming gas emissions. Highways have destroyed vibrant neighborhoods throughout the state, and more neighborhoods are at risk because of expansion plans. Farmland, wetlands and cultural resources are all-too-frequent victims of road expansion.
Our fixation with driving leads us to build new housing, shopping centers and job centers that are entirely auto-dependent. It is no longer an option to have a car in the typical new development in Wisconsin; it is a requirement.
Unfortunately, those who still walk face increasing obstacles. No sidewalks mean pedestrians must risk sharing the street with cars to reach any destination. Pedestrians often become simply another obstacle for drivers.
As we lose pedestrians, we lose the human connections that make safe and healthy neighborhoods. We lose our identity, and our communities become merely a collection of buildings connected by roads.
So if autobesity is killing us, what can we do about it?
Like eating, driving is necessary. And like eating, driving can be fun. And like eating habits, we can develop healthy driving habits. Recognizing that cars can be an obsession doesn’t mean that cars are bad – nor do we need to take the fun out of driving. Just as we like good food, we can enjoy nice cars. We just need to know when to say “enough.”
We need to stop investing in developments that require driving. The proposed $25 million interchange to feed cars into a proposed mall at Pabst Farms is a good example of auto-dependent development that should not be subsidized by state taxpayers. The mall will stand like a chocolate fudge cake with sour cream frosting for the autobesity crowd.
We should invest in healthy alternatives that don’t require a driver’s license for admission. Transit-oriented development can accommodate auto traffic while allowing and encouraging access by pedestrians and transit users.
Oconomowoc would be better served by re-establishing rail service to Milwaukee and Madison. New retail could be incorporated with downtown plans accommodating cars as well as shoppers and workers arriving by train service. We also would have fewer cars clogging up the interstate and spilling over to local streets.
The choice is clear: Feed autobesity with the junk food diet of ever-expanding highways or start a new healthy multimodal diet that recognizes the necessity of driving but also promotes healthy communities by investing in transit, walking and bicycling.
Steve Hiniker is executive director of 1000 Friends of Wisconsin, an environmental group.
(7 October 2007)
Recommended by contributor Hans Noeldner.
Road-pricing plans ‘to be shelved’
Hélène Mulholland, Guardian Unlimited
A national road-pricing scheme that would have cost motorists up to £1.30 a mile is to be shelved, it was claimed today.
Ministers are said to have “back-burnered” the plans, designed to combat congestion.
The claim, in today’s Daily Telegraph, comes as opinion polls show Labour trailing once more behind the Tories, following a honeymoon period for the new prime minister, Gordon Brown.
Road pricing proposals have proved unpopular with motorists, triggering a petition on the Downing Street website signed by 1.8 million people and a campaign by the Telegraph calling for the plans to be ditched.
(15 October 2007)
