MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Nov. 4, 2010) —The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation is sponsoring a special event during the AOPA Summit 2010 in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 12 at 10 a.m., at the Hyatt Regency, adjacent to the convention center, in the Regency Ballroom, Salon B. The forum, dubbed, “Aviation, the Environment and the Future,” will provide attendees a quick, interesting taste of the leading edge of the future of general aviation.  

“This hour–long session will highlight big changes that are in the pipeline at the intersection of aviation and the environment,” said Lindbergh Foundation Chairman Larry Williams, President and CEO of BRS Aerospace.  “This intersection is at the very core of the Lindbergh Foundation’s desire to encourage solutions, acknowledge progress and communicate ideas that affect general aviation.”  

The event is open to all attendees and includes six, 10-minute-long presentations that will give those who attend a rapid but substantive look at the advances in alternative bio-fuel for use in GA aircraft, Cessna’s electric airplane program, fuel cell and drag reduction initiatives, new diesel engine options, the company-wide environmental program at Cessna, and some stage-setting general future trends that will shape the coming environment.

“The relationship between technology and our environment is one of the most important issues facing aviation, and in fact, all humankind,” said John King, co-chairman of King Schools and director on the Lindbergh Foundation’s Board.  “For our own good and the good of society, we in the aviation industry must exercise leadership and steer the dialog and action toward a more productive approach.”

The Lindbergh Foundation’s Aviation Green Investment Program is a forward-looking, multifaceted effort that targets the aviation community.   It encourages innovative solutions through providing research grants and facilitating significant industry initiatives, acknowledges the progress of those who have made substantial contributions through its annual awards, and communicates new and important ideas through its education programs.

Charles and Anne Lindbergh, throughout their many pioneering flights, shared a previously impossible aerial view of the effects of the advance of human population and economic development on the land, water and air.  Realizing that technology was a major component of any equation describing how humanity would both advance and protect its environment, Charles Lindbergh became a very strong advocate for the environment.  The Lindbergh Foundation continues this legacy.

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The Lindbergh Foundation <http://www.lindberghfoundation.org>  is a public 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, based in Anoka, Minnesota, which focuses on technological breakthroughs to address significant aviation-environmental issues. The Lindbergh Foundation also values individual initiative and accomplishments. Its programs are devoted to supporting, honoring, and educating individuals, through three major programs:  the annual Lindbergh Award, presented to individuals for significant contributions toward balancing nature and scientific innovation in their work; the Lindbergh Grants program, which provides grants in amounts up to $10,580 (the cost of building the Spirit of St. Louis in 1927) for research or education projects that will make important contributions to the technology/environment balance; and a variety of educational events and publications centered on the balance theme.