With pressure mounting on the airline industry to reduce their carbon emissions, commercial airlines like United are turning to more environmentally-friendly alternatives to fuel their planes. This past Friday, United became the first airline in the U.S to begin full commercial deployment of renewable biofuel for its jets at the LAX airport. The airline has replaced its usual jet fuel for its flights headed to San Francisco with a 70% to 30% mix of petroleum-based fuel and a special biofuel made from trash. To make this happen, United is working with AltAir Fuels and Fulcrum Bioenergy, two companies that specialize in turning trash—literal trash—into jet fuel. AltAir’s process is based around converting inedible animal fat and grease into jet fuel, while Fulcrum converts “municipal solid waste” into fuel. United plans to run two more weeks of flights on this new fuel blend before using it to fuel all their flights at LAX, and don’t be surprised to see other airlines adopt similar fuel initiatives in the near-future as companies Fulcrum and AltAir hold the possibility of producing fuel at considerably lower prices than airlines currently source it, despite the drop in oil prices.
United Airlines begins flying powered by garbage
More of Today's Solutions
Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation regains ancestral lands near Yosemite in major c...
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Nearly 900 acres of ancestral territory have been officially returned to the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation, marking a ...
Read More8 fermented foods that your gut will love (and that taste great, too!)
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Fermented foods have been a dietary staple in many cultures for centuries, but in the U.S., they’re only ...
Read MoreBreaking the silence: empowering menopausal women in the workplace
Addressing menopause in the workplace is long overdue in today's fast-changing work scene, where many are extending their careers into their 60s. According to ...
Read MoreInsect migration: the hidden superhighway of the Pyrenees
Insects, while frequently disregarded, are critical to the planet's ecosystems. They make up about 90 percent of all animal species and play important functions ...
Read More
