With biodiesel filling tanks on new school buses and hybrids
cars becoming the new norm, the world’s motorways are finally
making progress towards becoming more ecologically friendly. The
same can’t be said for our skies, where the growing aviation
industry still relies completely on jet fuel and other old,
toxic petroleum products. According to recent estimates, the
airline industry is responsible for nearly 5% of total
anthropogenic greenhouse gas contributions. Chip Yates, a speed
demon experimentalist, aims to change all that. On July 19, in
the skies above the Mojave Desert in California, Yates set a
record that may pave the way for greener airways: he became the
first human to fly 200 mph in an electric-powered airplane. He
only hit that speed for 15 seconds before his lithium polymer
battery pack burnt out, sending his custom Long EZ airplane
gliding unpowered through the skies. Thankfully, Yates, who only
got his pilot license in June, was able to touch down unharmed.
The experimental flight is just t