Aviation and the Emerging Use of Biofuels
Opening Statement By Chairwoman Gabrielle Giffords
Good morning, it’s a pleasure to welcome you to today’s Subcommittee hearing.
We have an impressive panel of experts appearing before us this morning, and I look forward to a good discussion.
Let me come right to the point.
I think that today’s hearing is one of the most important that this Subcommittee will hold this year.
Why do I say that?
It’s no secret that this nation is wrestling with the twin challenges of achieving energy independence and preserving our environment.
They are tough challenges, but we’ve got to succeed.
Every sector of our economy is going to have to play its part in helping to reduce our dependence on foreign energy as well as helping to combat global warming.
We all know the importance of aviation to our economy and to our quality of life, but that doesn’t give it a “free pass”.
We only have to look at the recent European moves on aviation emissions penalties to realize that.
This Congress will be focused on finding the best path forward as it considers climate and energy legislation in the coming months.
This hearing will be the first opportunity for our Committee to examine one important option for addressing both of those challenges—namely the potential offered by aviation biofuels.
In that regard, we have seen increased attention in recent months to the role that biofuels could play as a future aviation fuel source.
There even have been recent flight demonstrations of biofueled aircraft, and we will hear about some of those flight tests at today’s hearing.
Yet, the limited experience to date with the latest generation of aviation biofuels doesn’t provide enough information to know what role they will ultimately play in aviation.
That’s not surprising. As the Nobel prize-winning physicist Niels Bohr once said: “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.”
We also don’t yet have enough information on the potential “unintended consequences” of different types of aviation biofuels, and in particular, their impacts on land use and water use if they would go into widespread production.
I called today’s hearing so that the Subcommittee can start to get some answers on the outstanding questions that will have to be addressed if biofuels are to play a significant role in aviation in the future.
Most importantly, I would like to find out what is being done by both the federal government and the private sector to address those challenges.
We have first-rate R&D capabilities at NASA, the FAA, DoD, and DoE, as well as in America’s companies, research institutes, and universities.
However, those capabilities will not suffice without clear R&D roadmaps, program plans, and resource commitments to guide our efforts.
I’m afraid the odds of success will be reduced without an integrated federal/private sector approach to evaluating the potential benefits and costs of aviation biofuels, including a systematic plan to understand their impacts on both existing and future aircraft technologies.
Or to quote another notable person, Yogi Berra: “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”
I think we need to “get there” as a nation, and I look forward to today’s hearing as an important step towards crafting a productive path forward.
With that, I again want to welcome our witnesses, and I now will yield to Mr. Olson for any opening remarks he would care to make.
Witnesses
Panel
0 - Dr. Jaiwon Shin
Associate Administrator Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate NASA
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0 - Dr. Lourdes Maurice
Environmental Lead Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI)
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0 - Mr. Holden Shannon
Senior Vice President Global Real Estate and Security Continental Airlines Global Real Estate and Security Continental Airlines
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0 - Dr. Alan H. Epstein
Vice President Technology and Environment Pratt & Whitney Technology and Environment Pratt & Whitney
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0 - Mr. Bill Glover
Managing Director Environmental Strategy The Boeing Company Environmental Strategy The Boeing Company
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