OK, OK, perhaps the headline is a bit over the top, but, seriously these are the kinds of things the Cult of Climastrology worries about
Why aren’t ships using wind-power to cut their climate footprint?
Industry claims to have no control over its rising emissions, blaming the growth in global trade, but low-carbon alternatives such as wind power do existMS Estraden looks, on first glance, like a normal cargo ship. Just another one of the 50,000 vessels transporting pretty much everything we buy, sell and consume.
But on closer inspection, ship-spotting enthusiasts will notice two large cylinders rising from the deck. These are rotating devices that capture wind and help propel the ship forward. It is technology first trialled back in the 1920s, but only now brought into commercial use.
Why does it have those?
For the past year and a half, the MS Estraden, which belongs to the Dutch-owned shipping company Bore, has been testing out the cylinders on its regular journey between Rotterdam and Teesport, on the north-east coast of the UK. The result: it has cut fuel costs by 6% (pdf).
To save money!
Shipping brings us 90% of everything we buy and consume, yet most of us remain blind to both its role in our lives and its contribution to global climate emissions: currently around 3%. The industry has no targets for reducing emissions; the climate talks in Paris last year were skilfully negotiated with warnings that a cap on emissions for shipping would be a cap on global trade and growth.
On current projections, the sector could be contributing upwards of 6% (pdf) of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
So, of course Warmists want some sort of fee or tax for shipping, as well as spending lots of money to have sails on the ships. Think I’m kidding? Check many of the photos at the story.
Maersk, one of the few shipping companies to set itself targets for reducing emissions, says cost savings rather than consumer demand remains the main driving force. “There is a limit to how far we can go alone,†says John Kornerup Bang, Maersk’s lead adviser on climate change. “We need fair regulation and limits for the industry, otherwise there is a gap between the free ride of those doing nothing and us.â€
In other words, government forcing Everyone to make these changes. Why does the end result of ‘climate change’ policies always result in more government control?
