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RE: Environmentally friendly ferries and small islands
For some reason, I completely missed your post. This is really a great news. Whilst we hear a lot about flights and the related pollution, nothing is said with respect to boats. I do not remember where I have read that cruise ships (okay this is not every boat) where polluting as much as airplanes. Anyways, this is probably a very good step in making boats more eco-friendly in the future!
Cruise ships are terrible in so many ways. Small Norwegian and Greenlandic fjords with 120 inhabitants are flooded with 4000 tourists. Here in Copenhagen they keep their crude oil engines on to make electricity for the ship while in harbour making tons of particle pollution. In Venice they sail into the quay and destroy the city.
Ferries are also pretty polluting (both CO2 and particle wise) as they are doing a lot of manoeuvring, backing and such. Large containerships are all in all the most energy efficient way of transport over long distance, but I would like to see much more research making that part CO2 free also.
The problem is the same: not enough money to fund research that could help solving these issues. Whilst this holds on many aspects, most people are presently getting aware of the issues so that we may hope for a change in a decade or so. If not, then it will be too late anyways... :/
Yea, speeding up the science efforts will have to be a political decision. As I wrote here the new Danish government have set a very high goal and everybody agrees that it has to be done with technology that is not yet developed, first and foremost a smart energy system that can bring the resources where they are needed in a decentralised system. We can only hope the process will speed up drastically these next ten years.
How wise it is! A good and such a rare example when politicians really work - for the people and for the future. Spending money on science, not on wars in distant corners of the world. Sorry for my being that emotional, but environmental matters mean quite a lot to me. In Russia, we've got so many issues...
I am pretty emotional about it too. I am only glad to hear that people elsewhere care.
Wow! I was not imagining Denmark being so much on the forefront! Thanks for the link!
It is fairly resent. Libertarian governments supported by national-conservatives have slowed down the tempo a lot, but now the bar have been raised for some higher ambition and a recent poll showed 70% support among the Danish voters, so I am sure this project will be completed. No one knows exactly how the last 10% of the 70% shall be accomplished, but a smart energy system that connects the already decentralised heat and electricity systems is probably the main key, and then the whole traffic has to be changed like I wrote about in post about electric cars. The latter will most likely be the hardest part for most people.
Thanks for the precisions. I am looking forward to the success of this, as an example for other countries. I am really ashamed by what France does... or actually doesn't do. I am no French (so that I have no power at the elections at all), but I leave here for so many years... And I am sad...