The attack on fossil fuels is coming on two fronts: alternative fuels and alternative design. These days we're either trying to come up with vehicles that can burn corn, or designing vehicles that burn fossil fuels more efficiently.

On the latter front, low-cost airline easyJet is looking into a narrow-bodied plane whose special design should cut carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent, noise by 25 percent, and nitrogen oxide emissions by a stunning 75 percent. "This is not Star Trek technology," says easyJet CEO Andy Harrison, "this is technology well within our reach." The new design uses "open rotor" engines located above the tail and a lightweight carbon composite airframe, two design tricks that have yet to come into widespread usage.

While it sounds easy enough on paper, the alternative design will take quite some time to implement; Harrison estimates Airbus will have them ready in 2015. (The Starship Enterprise, for the record, launches in 2207.)