Roses are green?

A study shows that flying roses from far flung warmer countries generates less CO2 than the artificial irrigation and additional heat supply that would be required to cultivate them in Europe’s cold climate.
That is the view of Lufthansa Cargo as it prepares for the Valentine’s Day rush on February 14.
Lufthansa’s cargo arm is transporting around 1,500 tonnes of roses this year, mostly from Kenya or South America, which have the" ideal climate" for year-round cultivation.
They are harvested several times a day, placed in water and cooled before sorting and packing, after which they are taken directly to the airport and loaded onto freighters, which operate several times a week into Lufthansa’s Frankfurt hub.
But special charter flights are being added to the scheduled services, such is the demand at this time of year. Lufthansa’s Fresh/td product gets them to the arms the beloved, or at least the local petrol station forecourt, within a few hours of landing.
Meanwhile, 170 LAN Cargo freighters are expected to take off from airports in Ecuador and Colombia, bound for the US.
LAN Cargo and its affiliates transport a total of 200m flowers during the four-week rush that leads up to St. Valentine’s Day – more than enough to give every female in the US a single red rose.
In fact, Valentine’s Day accounts for 30 per cent of the total annual flower market from the region. Mother’s Day is the other big peak in demand, says LAN Cargo chief executive Cristian Ureta.
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