I recently got back from a trip in the South. We took the easy, cheap route and flew Southwest, a no-frills airline that puts its employee’s first. Our flight attendant told us that a week earlier she counted Al Gore among the all-coach passengers. Much has been made by Al Gore’s political enemies of his energy consumption (in the name of environmental awareness), but no one can doubt his thrift.

This got me thinking about how the airline industry could become more green. There were some definite misgivings when Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic flew a plane on biofuel. Changing out jetfuel is a large step, but I think airports and airlines could take some very small steps to improve their environmental record. The TSA has made a lot of cash by picking up coins dropped from the security screening process. How much have they made from recycling all those water bottles they confiscate from folks at the gate?

Here’s a quick idea I drew out for making the refreshments on planes a little more environmentally-friendly, safer, and less staff-intensive. Each seat in the plane would have a magnetic valve projecting from the armrest that would act as a cup holder. A metal-bottomed cup could be passed out by flight attendants and cups would be filled from the bottom with pressurized refreshments stored in the back of the plane. Obviously, the planes would have to be fitted with piping for the drinks, but the system would cut down work for staff and would eliminate the waste of disposable cups, cans, and bottles.

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If you’ve ever traveled in the developing world you’ve probably heard loud motorcycles zoom by and breathed in the smoke that they produce en route. A group of social entrepreneurs decided to engineer an affordable solution to address 2-stroke engine emissions and lack of efficiency. Envirofit International is a non-profit organization that has developed a retrofit for motorcycles (and other vehicles) that reduces carbon monoxide emissions by 76%, carbon dioxide emissions by 35%, and hydrocarbon emissions by 89%, while reducing fuel use by 35% and oil use by 50%.

Using a process called Direct Injection, the carburetor is eliminated and fuel burning is optimized. The product has been successfully implemented in the Philippines, resulting in job creation, carbon emission reductions, and reduced fuel consumption. This is a great example of how a simple innovation can be used to improve both quality of life and the environment.

Last night, the Green Rapper crew saw a screening of the documentary Thirst, Fighting the Corporate Theft of our Water, Thirst tells the story of citizens’ fight for public control of water in California, Bolivia, and India. As the title might imply, the arguments put forth are fairly one-sided and the movie runs a bit long, but overall the film is informative and well-done.

The film opens with footage of civil strife in Bolivia after the privatization of water resources in Bolivia, but is mostly centered around activists in Stockton California and their fight to keep the local water resources from being controlled by a multinational. The town caved into the outside interests, but later overturned the decision to privatize water.

The most compelling story is that of Rajendra Singh and his work in Alwar, Rajasthan in India. His NGO helped to empower villagers to take control of water management due to the government’s slow progress. This story probably hit home for me because it was what I would have loved to see happen in the in Oviedo.

I just finished watching the DVD of The Real Dirt On Farmer John. It’s a touching story of an eccentric Midwest farmer’s struggle to save his family farm from development and economic recession. He eventually converts to an organic Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model and his farm survives and thrives. Plus, the DVD features include a music video with a girl dressed in a bee suit ala Blind Melon. Check out the preview: