Earth Promise recently interviewed Traver Gruen-Kennedy, who serves as Chairman at the Alliance for Sustainable Air Transportation (ASAT). Below is a brief biography of Mr. Gruen-Kennedy and a couple of questions from the interview. To view the interview in its entirety, please visit the Earth Promise website.
Traver is the Chairman of Reset Holdings Corporation – an emerging leader in clean fuel. He also serves as founding Chair of the Alliance for Sustainable Air Transportation (ASAT) – a global public-private partnership with the FAA, governments and industry actively working to reduce the carbon, noise and cost footprint of aviation. This work holds the promise to reduce air transportation emissions by an estimated 15% to 20%.
Earth Promise: You have done quite a bit relating to the environment. Tell me about some of the steps you have taken to help the climate crisis outside of your work related efforts.
Traver Gruen-Kennedy: Over the last 30 years my volunteer, humanitarian and not-for-profit work has focused on expanding education, economic development and sustainable living opportunities. The formation last year of the Alliance for Sustainable Air Transportation (ASAT) is an example of this. I was honored to serve as chair and that the FAA, Governors Crist (FL) and Schwarzenegger (CA) and the aviation industry have been so supportive of this effort to accelerate the deployment of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). The annual savings could be as much a 700 million gallons of fuel and all the emissions that go with it! Now the Obama administration has included funds in the recovery package to help further. This is rewarding work.
Earth Promise: Cars are one of the major problems when it comes to the environment. Our dependence on oil, our gas guzzling cars, our resistance to change. What are some of the changes you would like to see regarding the auto industry?
Traver Gruen-Kennedy: Have been working on hydrogen solutions to transportation for many years. You will see these innovations come forward over the next year. Everybody loves the independence and freedom of movement the automobile gives us. But it is a wasteful mode of transport as compared to air travel which can get 120 MPG/per passenger mile and other forms of public transportation.
The automotive challenge is deeper than fuel usage, carbon footprint and air pollution. Don’t forget the roads and highways we build to support automobiles. Building and maintaining our current infrastructure is costly and environmentally taxing.
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