Solar-powered boat sails around the world

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - Poor Al Gore has sure taken a beating from the right wingnuts that dominate corporate media these days. A good and decent man, excoriated continually by right wingnuts.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - And the Vikings sailed across the Atlantic but they didn't know how to sail into the wind. They used those square sails but they didn't know about keels and/or daggerboards to make it possible to sail windward.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - I think AwesomeCoasters is from the UK and doesn't believe in global warming because the UK has had some severe winters recently, perhaps because the Gulf Stream current is slowing down; it can't bring as much warm air up from the south. The Gulf Stream is slowing down because there is less polar ice to fuel that circulation. The Canadian govt is preparing to defend its north coast, knowing ships may soon be able to come that way.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - I heard from a European expert that in Germany new buildings are being constructed now that can provide their own power source for temperature control, the power they need for most everything. The concept is localized power generation instead of centralized power generation. Some are so efficient they can even sell power to the utility company. In Canada they are now producing small wind generators for individual home owners.

kurtilein3 Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - Yes :) Which reminds me of another application of solar panels, when people like to stay at such a place you describe with their own travel trailer, solar panels on the roof come in very handy. Basically, for low-impact tourism, and caravaning / travel trailers as well as sailing or camping / tenting often fall into these categories, solar panels are in high demand, and its a way for people to learn that they actually work.

kurtilein3 Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - Also, people that are into low-impact tourism have the money to spend on stuff like this. A high quality high luminosity propane-powered lamp may cost 50 euros, but it lasts a lifetime, also high quality sleeping bags and head-to-toe waterproof clothing for sailing, high-quality tents, that stuff is expensive. Sturdy and reliable and light solar panels for camping / expeditions / sailing fall squarely into that category. I would say photovoltaics is booming in eco-tourism.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - Eco-tourism sounds like the way to go, I just hope the world can continue to be worth visiting. I hate what BP did to my beloved Gulf coast I used to visit every winter. In 1986 I saw plankton in the water off Malaquite Beach that glowed so brightly it reminded me almost of light from an arc welder, but greenish. I could run my shoe over the sand at water's edge and see little spots light up. I didn't see that in 2006, the last time my wife and I were there.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - Another neat idea is they now have windows that also are photovoltaic, so you can get electricity from windows. I think that would be a boon for any vehicle or building with large windows. It seems like the most inventions and improvements came when companies invested more in R & D but in recent years they have to spend money trying to avoid hostile takeovers, etc. I like to see people forging ahead on their own and blazing new trails like this.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - I think the ones who don't believe there is a global warming crisis are the ones who created it or are profiting from it.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - Also for getting in and out of port in close quarters where using regular sailing technique would get pretty dicey.

bodryn Says:

Dec 24, 2011 - I think this is part of what RFK referred to when he quoted this: "Some people see things and ask why. I dream of things that never were and say, why not?" I've always had the highest respect for inventors of new technology and new concepts. It's really enjoyable to see new technology in its early uses. I hear they're really moving ahead in Germany on new energy technology while the USA is dead in the water and is falling behind.

kurtilein3 Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - Oh, what a sad story. I believe for nature the BP oil spill is worse than the nuclear pollution from fukushima. At the north sea, north coast of Germany, i also recently faced oil in the sand. A terrible experience, i did dig into the sand with my hands for fun just like i did as a child, then a black layer appeared, i dug through it expecting it to be just a kind of bacteria. But it turned out to be tar, almost impossible to clean the black stains off my hands.

kurtilein3 Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - I heared about that too, but it makes the windows much darker (how else could it pull out energy?) and also seems to add some dispersion. So that specific thing i think wont take off. Solar panels for hot water in combination with storage tanks for hot water are taking off it seems. And R&D in this area is often financed by governments, or universities, private companies are not the only one.

kurtilein3 Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - Germany is doing well, i dont recall the exact dates right now, but a while back they set a goal to reach 16% of all electricity in the grid coming from green sources, invested accordingly, and when the deadline for the set goal arrived we were much higher than 16%. In northern Germany when you travel by car or train you will see tons of wind turbines. And many buildings have photovoltaic roofs, we are also building offshore wind parks in the north sea.

kurtilein3 Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - One difficulty in Germany are the storms, which also makes it more difficult and more expensive to get a permit to build anything. The most popular building materials in Germany are cast steel-reinforced concrete, or pre-manufactured concrete pieces to assemble smaller homes. So of course wind energy makes sense, but it also needs to deal with heavy annual storms. A typical annual german autumn storm would destroy a third of all buildings in california.

kurtilein3 Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - i also believe germany is the world market leader for wind turbines. Maybe some cheap chinese stuff did take over and i didnt get the memo, but then we would still be rulers when it comes to sturdy and reliable wind turbines, and offshore wind turbines. In photovoltaics i think Germany is losing to China. But for difficult / stormy areas, we have just the right wind turbines developed and are already producing in quantity.

AwesomeCoasters Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - You don't make sense...

bodryn Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - In the US, a lot of the research money previously given by the government isn't spent anymore thanks to the GOP party. Now mostly private companies pay for "research" like on pharmaceuticals but they don't test them thoroughly and the FDA has been corrupted - it's a whole lot safer to just stay healthy these days. A lot of "new" drugs are just minor variations on existing formulae to make big profits on new patents for what are really old drugs.

bodryn Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - I guess you don't get that Gulf Stream business.

bodryn Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - I guess you don't get that Gulf Stream business.

bodryn Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - I guess you don't get that Gulf Stream business.

bodryn Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - There is at least one wind turbine factory being started in Canada not far from where I spend part of the year. These would be small, house-sized turbines that people can install on their own homes, apartment buildings, whatnot. I believe the idea here is decentralized energy generation.

bodryn Says:

Dec 25, 2011 - Very interesting. No doubt from direct winds off the Atlantic.

DoomEgg Says:

Jan 26, 2012 - I doubt it was the first time ever...

crapbag1997 Says:

Mar 12, 2012 - wow thats very impressive i invented a wind powderd boat a few hunded years ago