Planes, trains & automobiles

Stinky, coal-belching train engines are the stuff of the past. Bulky, gas-guzzling SUVs ... well, maybe not yet. But concerns over a future of sky-high fuel prices and stiff emissions regulations are spurring manufacturers around the world to build cleaner and more efficient transportation modes for people and goods.

In the following feature, SIJ examines energy innovations with potential staying power, from hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars to hybrid gas-electric locomotives.



Changing flight plans
by Celeste LeCompte
In 2000, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) began development of its next generation 787 family of planes with the intention of creating a Sonic Cruiser — a plane capable of flying at Mach 0.95 — 20 percent closer to the speed of sound than today’s commercial airplanes... Read more


The not-so-little engines that could
by Michael Burnham
There’s the classic image of the train, chugging westward up the Continental Divide, hauling a load of timber and belching coal smoke. The conductor inside removes a blue-and-white striped cap and wipes the soot from his brow with a muscular forearm. It is Industrial Revolution forged into an iron and steel locomotive... Read more

High time for hydrogen
by Michael Burnham
For more than a decade, the automotive industry has been promising that mass production of hydrogen-powered cars is just a decade away. And along the way Detroit and Tokyo have unveiled their versions of the future — flashy concept cars with efficient fuel cell engines but few places to fill them up...Read more