Sustainability and environmental concerns in the Yachting Industry

  • Thread starter Thread starter EJC
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If we're to believe what several small scale studies and anecdotal evidence tell us, that most yachts are used for just a handful of days per year, then their environmental cost at the point of sale is far more pertinent than their enviromental impact in use. In such cases, the energy costs of manufacture would take many years to defray. That is, incidentally, one argument for not scrapping older boats, and against disposability in general. If the planet continued to manufacture cars, bikes, boats etc at the present rate (not that boats account for much of the total) AND THEN NO-ONE EVER USED THEM then the environmental impact would still be enormous.

As for the observation that "Cars have become more eco friendly", well isn't that sort of perception the root of the problem (if problem it is)? They haven't. They've become less eco-harmful. Big difference. There is no such thing as a truly green car, even if it's electrically powered. Just making them has plenty of energy cost.
 
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We are currently trying to arrange a venue for an international conference on establishing agreement on these credits somewhere in Japan next year.

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Oh good because I have never been to Japan. However our local big mobo builder Sunseeker has offered free loan of a fleet of their Manhattans to transport me there (and my 50 hangers-on, chefs, hairdresser, style guru and the like). Of course that will be dependent on the date not clashing with them being required for Tony B. Liar's annual hols or 2-Jags trip to the US to study cattle ranching. My staff are currently negotiating with Exon to have a suitable supertanker on standby to follow the fleet and keep them supplied. There is however a court case pending because Boeing claim this is clearly a publicity stunt and is racially discriminatory against aircraft.

BTW as your sailing season is my non-sailing season the exchange of credits will be quite convenient. All we have to resolve is the clear hemispherical imbalance in that our opening balance of credits seems less than yours. Setting aside the fact that it was your idea, this is not in the spirit of true democracy or British fair play and accordingly I have asked George under the tems of our special relationship (don't ask but it is good for sales of KY) to commence immediate and catestrophic retalliation - you don't have nukes do you?

Robin
 
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I have heard lots of talk of climate change and global warming. It now seems well proven and something we need to work on.

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By whom??

Good argumants have been put across by both sides but neither have convinced anyone, apart fromthe peeps who just appear to like to bitch about anything, anyway.

Oh, and the ever taxing, pull the wool over yer eyes, rather than actually doing anything constructive, governments.
 
I have read many "pros and cons". I now believe that we are at or very close to the point of no return. The problem, I see, is that we in Europe are the only ones changing and even that involves stopping goods from being made here and having them made on the other side of our planet. It makes some people feel better but does nothing for the planet. The USA are at least killing the planet in an honest upfront way.
Allan
 
If I had written what I wanted to write, it would have been censored. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Oh I tell you what Talbot me old son! I think you should write it anyway, at least it will probably give some of us a smile......

There is more utter bollocks spouted forth re Saving the Earth, than just about any other subject.

Saving the earth my arris! What they really mean is saving Homo Sapien, and the poor bloddy creatures that share the earth with him and have no say in any of it!

Mother earth will survive anything that Mr. and Mrs. Homo Sapien can chuck at her! The only thing that will kill off Mother Earth is when the Sun goes out in 3 or 4 million years, or whatever!??

If folks want to clean up their environment, that's great! I would support them in every way I can, not only will we benefit (all of us) but the aforementioned creatures will benefit also.

But please, Saving the Earth??..........Bollocks!
 
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Now big buisness makes serious money from very unfriendly plastics.

oh and I trying to avoid new shiny bits of of plastic and silicon.

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You must be outraged Rola –Voya !!!!!!!!!!!!


The November issue of Classic Boat has a 5 page feature on a PLASTIC 30 year old boat (Cutlass).

Interesting that plastic actually comes from mainly recycled plant matter ( lorra lorra mounts of trees there mate ! ).

Nearly all hardwoods are endangered species ( but we can still by 'em ) and most wooden boats ( if they last 30 years, and if any normal person could afford to have one built ) will probably have to have most of it’s planking renewed during this time, makes a RPMY ( recycled plant matter yacht ) a mighty smug and cost effective option.
 
Global warming? How convenient, another fallacious argument to persuade us to feel good about being taxed some more.
But as to the cause – how arrogant to suggest that odd bit of fossil fuel consumption is causing all the trouble and how ridiculous to suggest that reducing the consumption of it will somehow reverse a perfectly normal earth process.
Even scattier is the mindless belief that solar and wind energy conversion machines will save the day.
A good project would be an energy audit on this stuff – find out exactly how much energy (not money) it costs to produce, manage and maintain say a wind farm and balance this with the amount of energy it contributes during its useful life. Do the same for solar panels and the like. If possible take into consideration the relative efficiency of the power generation technologies that created the raw materials and process them – I bet the answer is that the whole exercise is a waste of time in terms of energy and co2 emission. But as previous posters have said the issue is that one volcanic eruption will pump more co2 into the atmosphere than all the fossil burning activities of man since he crawled out of the swamp. So technologies to cope with global warming are what’s needed not a king Canutesque attempt to reverse it.
 
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( if they last 30 years,) will probably have to have most of it’s planking renewed during this time, .

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Respectfully suggest you shut yer gob till you know what you are talking about
 
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Interesting that plastic actually comes from mainly recycled plant matter

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Interesting definition of recycled. Most plastic is made from petroleum derived products, which might have been plant material millions of years ago, but is hardly recycled.
 
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Interesting definition of recycled. Most plastic is made from petroleum derived products, which might have been plant material millions of years ago, but is hardly recycled.
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Ok. I made it up.

But........

Could recycled also mean stuff that was not doing anything useful or pleasing to the eye, and could now do something very good , where , before , it used to do something but it's not doing it anymore ?

Perhaps this is why it is too important to be used as fuel. Difficult to reclaim fumes from petrol, or smoke from coal etc. I wonder what plastic buckets would have to be made of - and at what cost if there was none.
 
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Respectfully suggest you shut yer gob till you know what you are talking about
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Just knew you would turn up sooner or later...............

Are you a double act with the other bloke ?
 
why make things up, it does your credibility and future responses no good.

Recycling is largely around using old stuff. It doesn't have to me smelted back into original form, just used usefully, and there are many people out there doing just that.

If plastic wasn't around, we'd go back to wooden pails made by old fashioned techniques or something similar
 
I think many people are more worried about the clammer for ever dwindling fuel supplies than global warming.

i.e. political unrest, potential war etc etc. We have had a taste of this already in the UK over price.

The massive global expansion in living standards is something that is both welcoming and terrifying.

How do we solve this ?

Highly unlikely that anyone is going to invent something as effective as fossil fuel technology in the next 30 years. Wind , sun, tide and water will be used more, it will have to be . Not out of desire but of necessity.

Surely there has to be an upper limit of how much any individual can take out of this planet. Currently, if we can afford it we can have it. No matter that a 1.3 litre car will do just about anything you want to do on a road, loads of us want something double the size. Same with house size, boat size ad nauseum……..

I suppose we should all we working on some kind of project all the time.
 
Hard decisions about {worried frown} the enVIRonment

Firsly of course, enourmous amounts of energy would be saved by not talking, writing and broadcasting about climate change so much.

Secondly we should recognise that most stategies are mere tinkering, when in fact a step chage is needed: To reduce the consumption of fossil fuels quickly, the way to do it is obviously to nuke the USA. Woompah. We can just say it's an accident, friendly fire, sorree, and all forgiven especially since the UK is such good mates with the US at the moment. I expect Blair is already mulling this idea over as it would be a much more worthwhile legacy than Iraq, another bonus.
 
I agree, in part, with your intelligent and thorough assessment of the carbon tax issue - although it would seem the most effective wat of encouraging large businesses to reduce their carbon emissions, either that or increase the cost of energy or fuels used in the first place, which is essentially the same tactic just used at a different point in the process. As you feel so strongly about this issue, maybe you could elaborate on your ideas as to how research should be undertaken into finding solutions that will allow us to deal with climate change?

As for your comment as to climate change being invevitable well yes this is true the Eath's climate is of course dynamic and not constant.

The thing about the "pain we must suffer in the name of saving the world" well me old mate its a simple question of economics, will it cost more to pay now or pay later?

I wonder have you assumed that I was only talking with regard to carbon emmissions as a pose to the issue of recycling materials, pollution from industry and manufacturing sites, alternative materials to reduce the aforementioned as well as to improve working conditions for those in the industry, and also the currently limited potential for recycling rather than burying a fibreglass hull that is no longer wanted
 
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