Until
very recently, I was terrified of flying. I guess I still am, but a terrific
sort of mystery and wonderment has now accompanied that fear. I boarded my
first plane mere months after 9/11. It was definitely a terrifying experience;
I was only 6 years old, and everything to me was a potential disaster or attack
waiting to happen. I remember seeing a Sikh man wearing a turban and, not
knowing the difference at the time, assumed he was Muslim. I pulled on my
father’s sleeve and asked him if everything was going to be all right, and his
reply calmed me a bit. He told me that plane crashes are some of the most rare
occurrences on the planet, in terms of injury attributed to vehicular crashes.
He said that airplanes are incredibly safe, and that most plane crashes are
attributed to pilot error. That last part didn’t make me feel too much better.
[http://gbaa.org]
Our
latest guest, however, eased some of fears. Strangely enough, understanding the
intricacies and technological nuances that go into the physical, mechanical
makeup of the plane itself actually changed my mind about flying, and perhaps
even getting a pilot’s license. At $10,000, it’s a stretch, and a ways down the
line, but it’s still a thought I’m entertaining.
[http://static4.businessinsider.com]
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During
the course of his wonderful lecture, I began to think about the sustainability
of manned, powered flight. Perhaps in the future, planes will be powered by
solar energy, or even the wind energy that causes drag on the body. In the
future, hopefully, the bulk of energy needs will be met with renewable energies,
especially fossil-fuel-intensive vehicles like airplanes and cargo ships.
Renewable sources have been a topic of incredible discussion in the past ten
years, and it’s wonderful to see the battle of ideas play itself out in the ideological
marketplace.
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