Published

3 years ago

March 25, 2024

Alice Rush

Here’s a piece from Fossbytes, the same people who claim that the costs of maintaining EVs is greater than that of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles.

A cargo ship named the Pyxis Ocean equipped with two 123-feet-tall WindWing sails embarked on a journey from China to Brazil last August, aiming to test the efficacy of the wind-powered technology.

After six months of sailing worldwide, Cargill, the ship’s owner, unveiled the results. On average, the Pyxis Ocean saved 3.3 tons of fuel daily.

It showed potential savings exceeding 12 tons per day in favorable weather conditions, resulting in a 14% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

WindWing’s makers suggest even greater fuel savings with three sails. Although promising, the challenge remains in adapting ports to accommodate such vessels. Cargill is actively engaging with ports globally to address this concern.

A couple of points:

As the wind industry has known for more than a century, the amount of power derived from capturing some of the kinetic energy from moving air is proportional to the area of the blades or sails on which the wind is incident. From the picture above, does it seem possible that huge, ocean-going cargo ships can be powered effectively from these two tiny sails?

It’s interesting that this is an artist’s rendering, rather than a photograph. It is significant that such devices do fact, in fact, exist?

There is no doubt that this will save on fuel. The ships the Vikings piloted around the open seas required no fuel either. If we don’t care how long it takes to ship our goods across the Pacific, perhaps this is a good idea. But of course, we care a great deal about modern supply change logistics.

A Return to Wind-Sailing Cargo Vessels?

Related Topics:EVs Fossbytes Wind-Sailing

Up Next

Masdar Acquires Stake in Terra-Gen, RWE Stock Price Drops, Maersk and Edison Chouest Partner in Offshore Installs

Don't Miss

The Enigmatic Enigma: Unveiling the Mysteries of Dark Matter

Alice Rush

Renewable Energy

There Are Some High-Powered Trump Supporters, But Why?

Published

13 hours ago

October 23, 2026

Alice Rush

What kind of people are the celebrities in music and digital media as a whole? Not an easy question to answer.

Obviously, they’re talented. Most are well educated and many have the good looks that come from good genetics.

And yes, most of these people have the intelligence to see that Donald Trump is a criminal sociopath on target to destroy the U.S. while enriching himself beyond measure.

For every Jon Voight (see left) that are perhaps 1000 Robert Deniros, Bruce Springteens, and Leonardo Dicaprios.

But why are there any Jon Voights at all? The answer is unclear.

I once met a Princeton grad to whom I explained that a guy from my prep school in Philadelphia went to Princeton, and now is all over social media shouting, “Close the Borders!” and “English Only!”

My new acquaintance laughed hysterically, and said with a smile, “Yes, we have grads like this, perhaps one in a few thousand. What a waste of hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can get that level of education by dropping out of high school and driving a truck.”

There Are Some High-Powered Trump Supporters, But Why?

Renewable Energy

Republicans Who Are Saying: ENOUGH!

Published

15 hours ago

October 23, 2026

Alice Rush

At left we see an example of a phenomenon that seems to be happening with increasing frequency: a life-long Republican saying “enough” and refusing vote for the current version of the GOP.

I applaud people who have both:

a) the intelligence to see where a party has crossed a moral line, and is now operating as a criminal enterprise.

b) the inner courage to do this, as it is hard for most people to admit they were wrong after a lifetime of kneejerk reactions, especially on a topic of such importance.