Sailboats So Green You'll Want to Quit Your Job and Sail Around the World

Bicycling gets its due respect for being the greenest way to travel on land, but for long distances -- and we mean really long distances -- sailing is the way to go. Assuming your current location and your destination are connected by a body of water, then hoisting the mainsail and heading for the horizon is one super energy-efficient way to get from Point A to Point B, and when you factor in the green technology on these sailboats, it's even more sustainable.
The Volitan

The designers behind The Volitan -- Hakan Gursu and Sozum Dogan -- were hoping for a luxury yacht with a minimum of environmentally impact. And the concept boat they came up with is 105 feet long, made from carbon fiber and epoxy resin, and fitted with two solar panel-fitted sails that capture wind and solar energy. Photo via Popular Science.


The Volitan isn't readily available yet, but this breakdown of the design shows how it would all come together. As the designers explained in a TreeHugger post in 2007, "The objective was to create a new and alternative sailing vessel that would achieve a lightweight system, high sail performance, and all-weather navigation capacity with near zero emissions."

The Plastiki

TreeHugger kept tabs on The Plastiki for over a year before the ship set sail. The brainchild of David de Rothschild, the finished product is made from more than 12,000 plastic bottles (which are, at least, appropriately buoyant) and uses a recycled PET sail to catch the wind. Currently, the ship is traveling from San Francisco to Sydney to call attention to plastic pollution.

International Surfers To Join Protest Against Nuclear Power Station at Thyspunt
2010 07 16

International Pro-Surfers currently in Jeffreys Bay as part of the annual Billabong Pro, will take some time off from the waves to join the Thyspunt Alliance in a march to voice their protest about the proposed plan by ESKOM to build a Nuclear Power Station at Thyspunt, 20km west of Jeffreys Bay.

The main aim of the march will be to highlight the many impacts that a development of this nature will have, not only on the environment but also on the social structure of the region.

Trudi Malan, spokesperson for the Thyspunt Alliance said that the Thyspunt Alliance has purposely not entered into the Nuclear vs Non-Nuclear power debate. “Nuclear is not the issue here and our opposition focuses on the negative effects of constructing a large Nuclear Power Station at Thyspunt. The negative effects of placing an NPS on this site far outweigh any positive impact.”

One of the biggest impacts will be on the marine environment. During construction 6.37 million cubic meters of sand will be pumped into the ocean. This amount of sand will fill enough tip trucks to stand end to end from here to Cairo. The plan also allows for the construction of several tunnels for the inlet and outlet pipes respectively. The digging of the trenches for these tunnels will cause irreversible damage to an area of up to 54 000m2. The ESKOM studies have indicated that the plume created by theses actions will disperse towards Seal Point, one of the most consistent surf spots in the area. The international surfing community has thrown their weight behind this campaign because they believe that for far to long the ocean has been used as a dumping ground. “The out of sight out of mind attitude must stop now, if dumping the sand on land is seen as a fatal flaw, why would it be OK to pump it into the sea?” asked international pro surfer Mick Fanning. “A development of this size on a stretch of coastline known for some of the best surf breaks in the world is unacceptable and it will cause massive damage to the environment” Fanning said.

A very alarming fact is the impact that these actions will have on the squid industry in the area. Sedimentation lowers visibility and the oxygen content of the water and because Squid is highly sensitive to any changes in environmental conditions the breeding area would most probably be lost. Between 28% to 37% of all squid catches in the squid sector occur within 10 nautical miles east and west of the proposed Nuclear-1 location, the squid industry, therefore stands to be the most prejudiced by the construction of such a plant and to the extent of facing complete closure.

Most of the pro-surfers competing in the Annual Billabong Pro in Jeffeys Bay will be in the line-up with the locals to voice their protest. This includes names like Kelly Slater, Jordy Smith, Taj Burrow and Andy Irons. The march will culminate in the handing over of a memorandum outlining the negative impacts of the proposed development to the Executive Major of Jeffreys Bay, Councilor Robbie Dennis.


The march will start at 09:30 at the factory store end of Da Gama Road. People are welcome to join the protest. Organisers have requested that people wear either black or yellow to show their support for the cause.




Enquiries and documentary Background Information can be obtained from:
Trudi Malan
Media Liaison
082 940 5521
dolphin@intekom.co.za

The Thyspunt Alliance can best be described as an alliance of like-minded parties who share the same concerns with regards to the negative impacts of the proposed development of a Nuclear Power Station at Thyspunt. I have attached a full list of member organisations and contact details to this release as well as a background information document.
“NO NUKE AT THYSPUNT” MARCH – SATURDAY 17 JULY 2010 IN JEFFREYS BAY
International Pro-Surfers currently in Jeffreys Bay as part of the annual Billabong Pro, will take some time off from the waves to join the Thyspunt Alliance in a march to voice their protest about the proposed plan by ESKOM to build a Nuclear Power Station at Thyspunt, 20km west of Jeffreys Bay.

The main aim of the march will be to highlight the many impacts that a development of this nature will have, not only on the environment but also on the social structure of the region.

Trudi Malan, spokesperson for the Thyspunt Alliance said that the Thyspunt Alliance has purposely not entered into the Nuclear vs Non-Nuclear power debate. “Nuclear is not the issue here and our opposition focuses on the negative effects of constructing a large Nuclear Power Station at Thyspunt. The negative effects of placing an NPS on this site far outweigh any positive impact.”

One of the biggest impacts will be on the marine environment. During construction 6.37 million cubic meters of sand will be pumped into the ocean. This amount of sand will fill enough tip trucks to stand end to end from here to Cairo. The plan also allows for the construction of several tunnels for the inlet and outlet pipes respectively. The digging of the trenches for these tunnels will cause irreversible damage to an area of up to 54 000m2. The ESKOM studies have indicated that the plume created by theses actions will disperse towards Seal Point, one of the most consistent surf spots in the area. The international surfing community has thrown their weight behind this campaign because they believe that for far to long the ocean has been used as a dumping ground. “The out of sight out of mind attitude must stop now, if dumping the sand on land is seen as a fatal flaw, why would it be OK to pump it into the sea?” asked international pro surfer Mick Fanning. “A development of this size on a stretch of coastline known for some of the best surf breaks in the world is unacceptable and it will cause massive damage to the environment” Fanning said.

A very alarming fact is the impact that these actions will have on the squid industry in the area. Sedimentation lowers visibility and the oxygen content of the water and because Squid is highly sensitive to any changes in environmental conditions the breeding area would most probably be lost. Between 28% to 37% of all squid catches in the squid sector occur within 10 nautical miles east and west of the proposed Nuclear-1 location, the squid industry, therefore stands to be the most prejudiced by the construction of such a plant and to the extent of facing complete closure.

Most of the pro-surfers competing in the Annual Billabong Pro in Jeffeys Bay will be in the line-up with the locals to voice their protest. This includes names like Kelly Slater, Jordy Smith, Taj Burrow and Andy Irons. The march will culminate in the handing over of a memorandum outlining the negative impacts of the proposed development to the Executive Major of Jeffreys Bay, Councilor Robbie Dennis.

The march will start at 09:30 at the factory store end of Da Gama Road. People are welcome to join the protest. Organisers have requested that people wear either black or yellow to show their support for the cause.




Enquiries and documentary Background Information can be obtained from:
Trudi Malan
Media Liaison
082 940 5521
dolphin@intekom.co.za

The Thyspunt Alliance can best be described as an alliance of like-minded parties who share the same concerns with regards to the negative impacts of the proposed development of a Nuclear Power Station at Thyspunt. I have attached a full list of member organisations and contact details to this release as well as a background information document.

We Are Killing Our Oceans

POSTED by : Natashia Fox from www.greenlifestore.co.za - www.green-living-store.co.za - Your Sustainable living SUPER Store Written by Enviroadmin

Monday, 24 May 2010 00:33 I meet world-renowned undersea photojournalist Brian Skerry at Legal Seafoods, across from the New England Aquarium, where he's the explorer in residence. He orders a chicken Caesar salad. "I refrain from eating much seafood due to environmental concerns," he explains, before launching into a depressing litany of problems facing the world's marine ecosystems. "I have to remain optimistic, because I do believe there's always hope," says Skerry, who spends more than half of every year underwater, diving with harp seals in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and green sea turtles in Kiribati. "That said, it's very discouraging what I'm seeing." What he's seeing are oceans in crisis, their health potentially at a tipping point: gratuitously destructive overfishing, endangered underwater "big game" (100 million sharks killed each year- STOP think about it - 100 million sharks killed each year), dying coral reefs, and subtle but potentially catastrophic shifts that are almost certainly due to climate change. Once upon a time, North Atlantic right whales were so plentiful that, as one Pilgrim wrote in his log book, "a man could almost walk across Cape Cod Bay upon their backs." It wasn't too long ago, either, that Atlantic cod teemed so thick in Boston Harbor one could simply toss a net into the water and pull up a writhing, silvery haul. Today, there are barely 400 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet.(thats 400, just to confirm) Ocean scientists say that Atlantic cod has been fished down to the last 10 percent of its population, and that those stocks may never be restored. Much of that degradation has taken place in only 50 years or so, since the advent of mechanized fishing. But it's not just ruthless whaling and foolhardy fishing practices that are plaguing the world's oceans. Underwater, things are bad all over — from the acidifying Atlantic to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch(just google it) . A perfect storm of climate change, pollution, and rapacious global fishing practices has the potential to gravely imperil Earth's oceans and their intricate, highly sensitive ecosystems. In Daniel Pauly's September New Republic cover story — title: "Aquacalypse Now"— the author, leader of the Sea Around Us Project at the University of British Columbia, reports that, in just the past half century, humans have "reduced the populations of large commercial fish . . . by a staggering 90 percent." He contends, consequently, that "eating a tuna roll at a sushi restaurant should be considered no more environmentally benign than driving a Hummer or harpooning a manatee." The recent documentary End of the Line, meanwhile, delivers an alarming ultimatum: change the way we fish or the seas will be barren of seafood by 2048 — their empty waters patrolled only by the ghostly forms of ectoplasmic jellyfish. That dire vision has been vehemently disputed. But there's little doubt that the seas have seen better days. What to do about it, however — especially in New England, the economy and culture of which have for centuries been inextricably tied to the water — is a complex and contentious issue. Different fisheries have different needs, prognoses, and environmental and economic prerogatives that must be balanced — a process made more difficult by extremists and pragmatists on both sides. In the meantime, these issues are playing out in the midst of a severe recession, which has raised tensions in the fishing community. Earlier this summer, a lobsterman was charged with elevated aggravated assault after shooting a man in the neck following a territorial dispute on the remote Maine island of Matinicus. This past month, a couple hundred fishermen gathered in front of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Gloucester to protest a planned revision of regulatory rules; one worried angler held aloft an effigy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) head Jane Lubchenco lynching a fisherman. Against this backdrop of environmental doomsaying and economic calamity, the Obama administration is trying to wade its way through not just tricky fisheries-management concerns, but every other issue affecting America's waters — offshore wind energy and oil exploration, tidal power, shipping lanes, coastal erosion, aquaculture — as it works to enact a comprehensive new ecosystem-based Ocean Policy Task Force. On the international front, the hugely anticipated United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month— even as pessimistic officials seek to tamp down expectations of any binding treaty — will make ocean protection a key component of discussions. There's also the question of whether the United States will finally sign on to the long-standing United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which would commit us to international standards for stewarding the ocean's natural resources. But with so many other big issues competing for people's attention, where does the ocean rank on the political hierarchy? And is it too late to hone sensible, science-based policies that will balance environmental and economic concerns to preserve these vast waters for generations to come? Or will we have killed the oceans by then? Lions and tigers of the sea Skerry, an Uxbridge native who shoots primarily for National Geographic, doesn't enjoy being the bearer of bad news. Still, there's no getting around it: "I've seen a lot of degradation in the ocean over my 32-year diving career." Things are worse now, he says, than he's ever seen them. Just a couple weeks ago, for instance, Skerry returned from an assignment in Mexico. "The reefs were anemic. They were highly overfished. They consisted of a lot of dead coral, from warming and bleaching. They'd also sustained heavy hurricane damage" — frequent and severe hurricanes being harbingers of climate change — "and because they're stressed already, they don't have the ability to be resilient and rebound." New England isn't doing too well, either, he says. "I remember in the late '70s and early '80s, I'd dive off of Rockport or Gloucester and ... see these huge schools of herring and pollock. You don't see that today. You just don't see it." Skerry recognizes the Herculean efforts being made by the American fishing industry to comport with this country's stringent stock-rebuilding rules. But he's dismayed by some of the excessive and destructive fishing practices he's seen across the world. Among the worst, he notes, are those for catching shrimp. "You take a net, and you scrape it along the bottom to catch shrimp. In the process, everything else — all the little stuff that lives on the bottom, the sponges and the coral and all the habitat for baby animals — you wipe all that out. To catch one pound of shrimp, we might kill 12 pounds of other animals that get thrown back into the sea [dead] as by-catch. "If we did that on land — to catch a single deer you go through the forest and kill all the raccoons and squirrels and skunks and everything that lives there — people would be outraged. Yet you can do it in the ocean and nobody cares." The issue, says Skerry, "that people have never really wrapped their heads around, is that seafood is wildlife. There are animals like giant bluefin tuna that used to be very plentiful here in New England. These are animals that have no terrestrial counterpart: they continue to grow their entire life. If we weren't so good at catching them, there would be 30-year-old bluefin that weigh a ton." Instead, "we're way too good at catching them. So their stocks have plummeted over 90 percent [globally] in just the last 30 years. They're on the verge of extinction. These are animals that cavemen painted on their walls, that Plato wrote about, wondering about their travels through the Earth's oceans. Yet we're wiping them out. We would never be allowed to kill all the lions and tigers and grizzly bears." Globally, locally Bluefin are in trouble all over the world, most notably in the European Union, but here in the northwestern Atlantic, too, where the Gulf of Maine bluefin has declined markedly in both quantity and condition. Luckily, there are a few success stories to offset those losses. Often called "New England's own ocean," the Gulf of Maine is "widely regarded as being one of the 10 or 12 most productive marine ecosystems in the world," says John Annala, chief scientific officer at Portland's Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI). "Because of the currents, the freshwater runoff, and relatively high nutrient loading, because the contrast in the water temperature is so great between winter and summer, then we get these really good phytoplankton blooms in the spring and the autumn that really drive the productivity." Commercial fleets started taking full advantage of that fecundity in the mid-20th century, with advanced automated trawlers, radar, sonar, and GPS fish finders. Moreover, the waters were open to all comers. "When foreign boats were allowed to fish in US waters, through about 1976," says Annala, "... a number [of stocks] were severely depleted." As such, the industry has been struggling in recent years to come to grips with a problem that festered for too long— severely curtailing fishing quotas and limiting time at sea in order to help replenish those decimated species. Some have been rebuilt, says Annala. "Hake, monkfish, mackerel, herring, bluefish. There have been quite a few success stories." That said, "some of the slower-growing species are not scheduled to be rebuilt until 2025 or sometimes as late as 2050.