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The world’s first solar powered Air Craft landed safely. Good news indeed!

The aircraft, flown by Andre Borschberg, touched down today at Payerne near Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland at 9 a.m. local time, the project known as Solar Impulse said on its website.


From their website:

The adventurers of the last century were constantly pushing back the limits of the impossible. Today, human and technological enquiry must go on, aimed at improving the quality of life on our planet. In building the first solar aircraft able to fly day and night, and piloting it right round the world without fuel or pollution, Solar Impulse's ambition is for the world of exploration and innovation to contribute to the cause of renewable energies, to demonstrate the importance of the new technologies for sustainable development, and to place dream and emotion back at the heart of scientific adventure.

I am not sure how feasible the idea would be commercially. The project cost is mentioned as $95 million which comes close to the price of an Air Bus –A320( This stretched fuselage aircraft has an overall length of 44.51 metres (146 ft.) and an operating range of up to 3,000 nm./5,600 km with the maximum passenger payload)

But then this is just the beginning of a splendid revolution.


Hats off to those who dared to dream!


Source: Businessweek
             Wikipedia
             Airbus

A very Happy New Year

Let me wish everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2010.

...and for those who have taken 2012 seriously, please remember that you have 2 more years to fulfill your ambitions, be happy and give other's happiness..

and for the rest of you who believe that this world is never going to end (during your lifetime), better work towards making it good so that it remains good while you :) last.. or at least good enough for your children so that they can take it up from where you left.

Let me leave a few links of blogs/newspapers that are reporting happy news from around the world…Yes we sure need them...

The one below is from a report on the co-author of "Three Cups of Tea”.. his work is mainly in Afganisthan..

that in 2000, there were 800,000 kids in school in Afghanistan, and this was during the height of the Taliban. The kids were nearly all boys. Today, there are 8.4 million children in school in Afghanistan, including 2.5 million females. So it’s the greatest increase in school enrollment in any country in modern history and the goal is 13 million.

I think that’s why I feel that educating girls is so important. If you educate a boy, you educate an individual but if you educate a girl, you educate a whole community.

The next is from goodnewsindia website which stopped spreading good news in the Year 2006 and for which the author has given a lengthy explanation. Please take time to read it through. He is now engaged in another fruitful venture.

“Given India’s history of throwing up influential people, waiting for a Gandhi is not an unrealistic act. But we can do something while we wait and do a bit of what he counseled: You cannot change others; but you can change yourself. If bad news depresses you, you can do something that radiates good news; so, become the good news and you begin to change the world. Indeed Gandhi deemed the greatest change we can ever seek is the change in ourselves. Feel the power of his insight: “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.” [How I love this man! He knew the modern age was a myth; it believes all the water we need can be delivered in bottles.]

Reflecting further, I understood consuming less and consuming with sensitivity is also to contribute to conservation and/or production; without any measurable productive act, a sensitive consumer can contribute to production and begin to bridge the divide inside her.

Let me also post the reason why the author chose the name "point to return"..

“…the point is to return” says the tagline. And that can be read in many ways.
Return to your roots
Return to nature and to learning from it
Return something to the earth for gifts received and resources enjoyed.

The author has inspired many.. and if one reads the comments one gets to know how many were inspired enough to start their own ventures; yes.. how Solar Energy, Green Houses, Rainwater Harvesting etc. can make a positive change to our environment...

Volunteers at work...



Point to return has its presence in twitter too.

Let me sign off with a quote from him...

Just as one must believe in God despite the priest, one must hope farming can be made attractive despite the intruding professional agricultural scientists.