From: Boeing 787 Dreamliner HomeThe Boeing 787, built from carbon-fiber composites, is far lighter and thus more fuel efficient...
(Boeing 787 unveiling, from News.com.au)From an article by Elizabeth M. Gillespie published last month in The Honolulu Advertiser Online,
"The 787 will be the first large commercial airliner built mostly from light, sturdy composite materials instead of aluminum, making the plane more fuel-efficient and less expensive to maintain. Not only that but the manufacturing process is revolutionary.
Boeing has lined up a vast network of suppliers around the globe that are manufacturing large pieces of the 787, which are then flown on a superfreighter to the final assembly plant in Everett, north of Seattle, where the plane is essentially snapped together."
The entire transportation sector should be forced by government, if necessary, to achieve 100mpg. as soon as is feasible though this light weight strategy.
An interesting contradiction comes to mind that could slow things down in government...
In the online publication "The Project For A New American Century/Rebuilding Americas Defenses" (pdf) the Empirists from American Enterprise Institute envision a global army, which use heavy Humvee's that are able to carry armor plate.
The society that makes the switch to light-weight carbon fiber transportation model would have a more expensive army, due to efficiencies of scale.
Technological progress is anathema to war.
Links:
Rocky Mountain Institute, Winning The Oil End Game/Executive Summary.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Home
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