A single NASA shuttle launch produces 28 tons of carbon dioxide. The monthly energy expended at the Kennedy Space Center is 900 times that amount. Ouch. There is a greener way to space travel and Virgin Galactic has found it.

For the tidy sum of $200,000 you can orbit in the SpaceShipTwo for two and a half hours. One trip such has the same carbon footprint as a business class passenger flying round-trip from New York to London. The total footprint is reduced by the fact that plans for the headquarters, Spaceport America, are intended to create as little environmental impact as possible. Complete with large windows, solar panels and ventilation systems, the building could be eligible for top certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Now if only NASA could follow suit.

 http://discovermagazine.com/2007/dec/a-spaceport-for-tree-huggers

Oh my god thats a very astonishing figure. May be thats the reason that Ozone layer is depleting much more faster than expected. Going green has a lot of advantages than disadvantages. The most important advantage being that pollution can be controlled effectively. I think Virgin Galactic should come up with more such innovative greener ideas........This is really an amazing article.