Office of the Independent Blogger

This news alarms me as on intuition alone I’ve worried about a terrorist attack occurring in the United States this summer or fall. I’ve particularly worried about, say, a nuclear explosion or another strike that can level a big city, but that’s in part due to my personal belief that nuclear proliferation is the most important and urgent issue in the world today and it is partly due to the common knowledge that terrorists have sought weapons of mass destruction for a long time.

It’s a little scary to see the Department of Homeland Security Director acknowledge that the threat and possibility are there and he shares my gut fear, but if the DOH goes public with such knowledge, it makes you wonder.

In more pleasant news we have this.

Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - news) prepared to unveil the first carbon-composite 787 Dreamliner on Sunday amid a flurry of 55 new orders for the lightweight, fuel efficient plane. European, Middle Eastern and Australian carriers trumpeted new purchases at various Boeing events in Seattle, as the U.S. plane maker got ready to host 15,000 or so employees, customers and suppliers at its nearby Everett, Washington, plant.

All are waiting for the first glimpse of the mid-sized, long-range jetliner, which is the company’s first all-new plane in 12 years. The jet will not look radically new on the outside, but beneath the just-dried paint lies a structure 50 percent made up of carbon composite materials and another 15 percent titanium, making the plane much lighter and fuel efficient than existing jetliners of the same size. The use of fatigue-resistant and rust-free composite materials means air in the cabin can be more humid, leaving passengers less dried out and jetlagged after a long flight.

The lighter weight and newly designed engines made by General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE - news) and Britain’s Rolls-Royce plc (RR.L) mean air carriers will save about 20 percent on fuel costs. Airlines have jumped at the plane after years of struggling to turn a profit, and Boeing is rapidly closing in on 700 orders, worth more than $100 billion at list prices.

First orders won’t be sent until next May, but that’s not that far away at all, and it’s encouraging to see businesses take environmentally sound approaches to business without government prodding. It makes you wonder what would happen if the government did give them pushes in the right direction.

Republicans would probably have you believe they’d stop work and go out of business overnight.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 10th, 2007 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Outside Retort (Current Affairs).