Climate Change
The Good
Sail Freight/Passengers
A few companies that are trying to return to low/zero emission sailing ships for cargo and passengers. A very, very small drop in the bucket of international shipping, but better than nothing.
SailCargo Inc.
- Vega:
- 3 masted square-rigged schooner
- Cargo Cap: 82 dwt, 148 m3
- Auxiliary: ?
- Started: 2023
- Ceiba:
- 3 masted square-rigged schooner
- Cargo Cap: 190 metric tons, 350 m3 (9 TEU equivalent)
- Auxiliary: Electric
- Started: Estimated 2025
- Cargo: Coffee
- Routes: Columbia to New Jersey
Timbercoast
- Timbercoast:
- 2 masted schooner
- Auxiliary: Diesel
- Cargo Cap: 114 dwt, 135 m3
- Solar: 2.1 kW
- Wind: 2x 400W
- Prop: 24V, 110Amps (?)
- Cargo: Coffee, Rum, Chocolate?
- Routes: Germany, Spain, Caribbean, Mexico, Azores, UK
Sea Cloud.
- Sea Cloud:
- 4 masted square-rigged schooner
- Cargo: 64 passengers
- Sea Cloud II:
- 3 masted square-rigged schooner (barque)
- Cargo: 94 passengers
- Sea Cloud Spirit:
- 3 masted square-rigged schooner (barque)
- Cargo: 136 passengers
- A cruise line that uses sail-powered ships. I would guess they have plenty of fossil-fuel engines for auxiliary power, but their web site is unclear.
Schooner Apollonia
- Apollonia:
- 2 masted gaff-rigged, steel hulled schooner
- Cargo Cap: 10 tons
- Started: 2020
- Routes: Hudson NY to New York City
- They also focus on low/zero emissions in getting cargo from the dock to the customer.
The Ugly
Emissions
This page also has a nice breakdown of emissions by sector and country.
Atmospheric CO2 equivalent
- Global measured marine surface CO2 trends
- Growth rate of Global CO2. Still increasing!
Global Temperatures
TBD
Climate Related Costs
Costs could be as high as 40% of global GDP. paper, press. By comparison the 2008 Global Financial Crisis involved an approximate drop of 4% in global GDP (e.g. World Bank).
From The economic commitment of climate change: "...the world economy is committed to an income reduction of 19% within the next 26 years...", and "These damages already outweigh the mitigation costs required to limit global warming to 2°C by sixfold..."
From THE MACROECONOMIC IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE: GLOBAL VS. LOCAL TEMPERATURE: "..we find that 1°C warming reduces world GDP by 12%."
A fairly dire warning from an insurance industry executive: Climate, Risk, Insurance: The Future of Capitalism. Even if he does focus on the dangers to capitalism, instead of to actual people. Especially since capitalism itself is a large part of the problem. By Günther Thallinger board member of Allianz SE (2nd/4th largest insurer in the world, by assets/revenue). press
Costs vs (useful) GDP
TBD
The Plan
A plan, anyway. A part of a plan, really.
I recently wrote a letter to five of my elected representatives with a suggestion for the kinds of changes we should be making to prevent climate change from getting worse than it already is, without making an already unjust situation even more so. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, not one of them bothered to respond.
My proposal was very much US-centric because that's about as far as I could stretch my self. Sorry.
