Virgin Airlines to Use Green Jet Fuel

Virgin Atlantic Airways boss Richard Branson announced this mont that his airline will abandon hydrocarbons and use plant waste to power his fleet.

"We are looking for alternative fuel sources. We are going to start building cellulosic ethanol plants (to make) fuel that is derived from the waste product of the plant," he told Reuters in an interview in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.

"It is 100 percent environmentally friendly and I believe it's the future of fuel, and over the next 20 or 30 years I think it actually will replace the conventional fuel that you get out of the ground."

"We use around 700 million gallons of fuel a year between the four airlines. I hope that over the next 5 to 6 years we can replace some or all of that (with ethanol)."

Green energy has made its way into conventional business practices. But the bigger questions remain: can we make enough of it to fuel our vast economy without diverting land from food production despaarately needed by an overcrowded world. The concept of limits still must be faced.