If it can be manufactured, it can be "green". Latest example, the world's largest passenger airplane, Airbus's A380, which is now promoting itself as green. Here's what they say:
Airbus is the only manufacturer in the aviation industry to meet the strict ISO 14001 environmental management standards, covering all its manufacturing sites and products. Making the A380 a greener aircraft at every stage of its life cycle, from when we start putting it together to when it is finally taken apart.
It's important enough for Airbus to be advertising itself at the top of the home page of CNN.com.
Marketing people are the same world and industry wide. Never shy of stretching the truth in an effort to win over minds and extract our dollars.
Airbus states; "You'll also be using less fuel, at around 2.9 litres per passenger per 100 kilometres."
Who are they trying to con; my family five seater uses 2 litres/100 km/ passenger, our nine seater 1.8 litres/100 km/ passenger and the 18 seater uses 1.3 litres/100 km/ passenger, a 40 seater 0.42 litres/100 km/ passenger (the 18 & 40 seater using bio-diesel or petro/diesel not jet fuel).
Gas turbines have improved a lot but they still have a long way to go before they come close to matching road transports fuel consumption/ km/ person, and rail is even better than road.
So I guess we just look at the Airbus hype the same as we do CAD vendor productivity comments and take it what it is; spin, spun by company exec's for their benefit and the consumption of gullible consumers.
Posted by: R.Paul Waddington. | Jun 05, 2007 at 08:50 PM