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The Best Kind Of Environmentalism
07/30/08 9:52am
This is the kind of environmentalism I like. Financed by private investors, tested by private firms, bought by private individuals and firms for private use to benefit them and the world in general. No government subsidy. No government mandate. No government punishment (because it doesn't benefit a preferred social group or lobbing entity). No government tax to kill it.

This is "SkySails" [Link To Article], a propulsion boosting sail that can be retrofitted onto ocean going ships (or built into new I suspect) to tow them along using wind power thereby saving fuel. Tested on 13 identical ships, Sky Sails says:

    ". . . savings of more than 15% can be achieved. 'Wind is always cheaper than oil and in the light of oil prices going up every day and new emissions regulations, more and more shipping companies are convinced of the performance capability of the SkySails propulsion,' . . . "

The captain of the ship in the video above estimates a savings of 4 tons of fuel a day. SkySails also says that some 60,000 of the approximately 100,000 existing ships worldwide are suited for retrofitting with SkySails propulsion. Just an idea whose time has come.

The only gripe I have with the article is near the end where SkySails proclaims: "With SkySails technology employed systematically throughout the world, it would be possible to save over 150 million tons of climate-damaging CO2 emissions every year." There still is no proof that CO2 emissions from man are damaging the climate. In fact the opposite opinion has been growing from previous "climate alarmists" (see my "Global Warming™ — Grab Your Gloves And Galoshes"
post just below). Obviously SkySails feels that they are unable to make a case on just the fuel savings and speed benefit alone (which they should easily be able to do), so they mindlessly perpetuate an untrue and unsubstantiated claim. Shame on them for that, it hurts us all but you gotta give props where props is due . . . viva SkySails!!