Inform, Entertain, Inspire
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
WVPE is your gateway to green and sustainable resources in Michiana. Sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This is accomplished by finding a balance between businesses, the environment, and our society (people, planet, and profit).State, National and International resources on sustainability include:The Environmental Protection AgencyThe Natural StepSustainability Dictionary45 Sustainability Resources You Need to Know Explore ways to support sustainability in the Michiana area through the Green Links Directory.Sept. 17, 2019 from 2-3:30pm"Global Warming: A Hot Topic"Sept. 17, 19, 24, and 26All sessions are from 2-3:30pmGreencroft Goshen Community Center in the Jennings Auditorium1820 Greencroft Blvd.Goshen, IN 46526The event will look at possible solutions and suffering as well as consequences beyond warmer weather. The event will examine what other civilizations have or haven’t done when faced with environmental problems. Plus there will be an exploration of the biggest unknown in the climate system: What will the humans do? Paul Meyer Reimer teaches physics, math and climate change at Goshen College. The events are presented by the Lifelong Learning Institute. The Institute can be reached at: (574) 536-8244lifelonglearning@live.comhttp://life-learn.org/

'Beautiful Flight' Across The Atlantic Is Major Milestone For Solar Plane

Solar Impulse 2, piloted by Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, prepares to land in Seville, Spain, on Thursday.
Jean Revillard
/
AP
Solar Impulse 2, piloted by Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, prepares to land in Seville, Spain, on Thursday.

After 71 hours and 8 minutes of flight time crossing the Atlantic, Solar Impulse 2 has touched down in Seville, Spain. It's a major step toward the team's goal of circumnavigating the globe using only the sun's power.

The end of this leg means they've now completed 90 percent of that journey.

As The Two-Way has reported, the single-seater plane took off from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport early Monday with pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls.

It was a "beautiful flight that has countlessly left Bertrand in awe at the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean — encountering oil tankers, islands, whales, icebergs, and an abundance of water," the team said in a blog post on the Solar Impulse site.

Piccard had to try to avoid clouds, or fly above them, so that the plane could use the sun's power to charge its batteries. The plane also climbs to higher altitudes during the day, collecting potential energy, and then uses that stored energy to descend to lower altitudes as night falls. As the team explains, that's "a time of approximately one hour when the solar generators do not need to be switched on."

But flying responsibilities aside, Piccard still had a lot of time to fill as he traversed the Atlantic. At various points, he chatted live with business leaders and EU officials from the cockpit. He paged through a signed copy of Leonard Cohen's Book of Longing.

He also managed to take a really cool selfie:

Here's what Piccard said upon landing in Spain:

This isn't the longest leg of the journey. The journey from Japan to Hawaii took 120 hours, and as The Two-Way noted, it broke the previous record for the longest duration nonstop solo flight. That journey also fried the plane's batteries, forcing a nine-month delay for repairs.

As we've reported, "Solar Impulse 2 has the wingspan of a jetliner and the weight of a minivan. It uses 17,000 solar cells to generate power — some of which is stored in lithium-ion batteries that help the plane stay aloft overnight."

The team says it is still mapping out the remainder of the journey, which will end where it started — Abu Dhabi. They say it will take "another three flights or so" to get there, and the next stop will be either Egypt or Greece.

We'll keep you updated on the next stages of the journey.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Merrit Kennedy is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers a broad range of issues, from the latest developments out of the Middle East to science research news.