ANALYSIS: An 'Inconvenient Truth' for electric planes

I am not taking a position on whether there is or isn't a climate crisis. I am just bringing up points that could bring real results and in a realistic timeframe. Unless there is a huge technology jump in electric batteries, powering planes by battery is not realistic. The power-to-density ratio is just not practical to go any significant distance. That is a fact. Yet, various companies are spending billions of dollars on a product that is not feasible. Why the excitement and investment? One possible reason is that "electric" is the cool kid. It is easier to get funding because of the overall willingness of government funding and the popularity of going green.RELATED STORIES:New legislation to pave the way for flying cars on U.S. roads SAF production doubled this year, projections for 2024 fall short of rising demands Flying cars and electric jets- what will the future of aviation look like? Think about this for one moment. What if that same amount of investment was thrown around for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)? How many refineries could we have up and running with major investments and the incentive to get those up and running in short order? Or there seems to be some existing technology for hydrogen-powered fuel cells that can be harnessed much quicker with better results. This seems much more likely than the major technological breakthrough required for a less dense battery. One issue is the infrastructure required to fuel planes around the world. Ask yourself, what if more money was diverted to the hydrogen infrastructure than powering planes with batteries alone? And finally, each new model of jet engine announced is more fuel efficient than the previous model. Some improvements are only in the low single digits while others are in the high single digits. They emit less CO2 and other pollutants. Existing companies only have so many investment dollars to pursue these improvements. What if they had the dollars that are being used for electric planes and what they might be able to do in a much shorter time frame?MORE STORIES BY MIKE MCCRACKEN:The business aircraft market is normalizing and that might be good The biggest mistakes buyers make when buying a private jet Is your aircraft ready for sale? How to prepare your plane for the marketWhy Fly: Mike McCracken's picture book written for toddler-aged future fliersI understand our industry is trying to fit in with the climate crowd and yes, we are leading many industries in that effort. However, keep this in mind, those same activists were after us well before the climate group and will be after us long after we are the greenest on the planet. They do not like private aviation and will never understand the importance of how it is a critical piece in how people do business.Perhaps it is time to block out the noise and do what is feasible, responsible and can be done in a timely manner.