The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has built and demonstrated a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can fly for up to ten hours using 500 grams of liquefied hydrogen fuel. The hydrogen is the energy carrier which appears to provide electricity to an electric motor via a fuel cell. At this time, the plane is piloted from the ground using radio control, but the team says that they are close to implementing an automatic pilot system, meaning that the machine would not require any manual human intervention. There is hope from the Korean team that the machine could have a future military purpose.

I've flown radio controlled airplanes before, and I can't imagine flying one for ten hours straight! After about fifteen minutes, my neck would revolt from staring up in the sky, so I'm sure that an auto-pilot would be a welcome addition.

[Source: Korean Times]

Flight. Drag racing. Radio controlled vehicles. Monster trucks, motocross... the list goes on and on. What list am I making? A list of activities or hobbies that could be considered by some to be environmentally irresponsible. Why? Let's examine some of them, starting with flight.

Much has been made regarding high-profile travelers, such as Al Gore and Mark Fields of Ford using jets to travel back and forth across the world, or even just our own country. Some believe that using systems already in place, such as by bus, boat or train, is more environmentally responsible. But, that is not where I was thinking of going with this editorial. I am thinking more along the lines of hobbyist flight, for instance ultralights. Some have been in love with the idea of flight for some time, ever since the Wright brothers proved it was possible. You know, environmentally speaking, there might not be anything wrong with it. Consider our past discussions of solar-powered flight and electric powered flight. Don't discount hang-gliding and parachuting. I have never done any of them, but I have heard from many that they offer an experience unlike any other. Also, there has been talk as of late about using biofuels as aircraft fuels.

Click past the break to read more about upcoming green hobbies, and submit your own in the comments!