Greener miles traveled

It is holiday season and many of us will be traveling to see family and friends in the upcoming weeks. For some like myself, that means flying. Flying is convenient and if you're going outside of the North American Continent, it is the only feasible option.

In a time when most of us are concerned with greenhouse gases, it is important to make notice that air transportation accounts for 3.5% of global annual emissions. And although that number may not seem that significant, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calculates that number will jump to almost 15% by 2050. Emissions from airplanes are of greater concern because of their elevation. There hasn't been much research done to understand how long those emissions remain in the atmosphere, and how quickly they have an effect on global climate change (regular emissions are calculated to last up to 300 years in the atmosphere, scary isn't it?). What if airplanes could harvest their own emissions and use carbon sinks to deposit them? It wouldn't be a long-term solution but it could help reduce emissions in the short-term.

On the positive side, there are indications that some development is taking place to reduce emissions. NASA is working on lighter materials and engines. Some researchers are attempting to create bio jet fuel to reduce the emissions from oil based jet fuels. Is it time for creativity to take place and a completely new and efficient design of airplane to take place? One that uses the natural world for inspiration (bio mimicry).

To all I wish Safe and if possible Green travels!

New Theme for Next Networking Event: Bring Your Creativity

I've been asked a few times what the theme will be for the next event. After a bit of thinking I decided that while it's great to have themes about particular industries and gets people thinking of new ideas, it would be really great if we could puts all of those great ideas together and create some value to share with everyone. As my emails note the primary intention of the events is to bring together a wide range of minds. That wide range of experience and knowledge can lead to a wonderfully wide range of ideas. So we will try something new: brainstorming.

Here's what I have in mind. While the regular interactive networking is going on, I will have poster boards or something for capturing ideas. We'll set a new topic each month to address and ask everyone to contribute some ideas. So for the first month we'll do something easy, "tips on how to make businesses more green." With two to three dozen diverse people we can easily come up with a list of 100 or more ideas.

This of course won't take away from the regular networking since the brainstorming will be mostly silent (like a silent auction). And since one of my areas of research expertise is creativity, especially in groups, I can take some time in a separate room to facilitate a more interactive brainstorming session if needed.