- currently I think options are limited to sail and electric motors
- sail will have the same issue as airships, time – not an issue in a solarpunk future, but in today’s society, it’s a refuge of the rich since they’re the only ones who can afford the time
- solar powered electric motors and hybrid sail/electric systems are seeing a big surge in interest (especially with shipping companies trying to cut costs with fuel, maintenance, and logistics)
- one of the more promising groups is Hundred Rabbits (a small artist/development collective heavily interested in the permacomputing side of things) who currently operated from of a solar-electric sailboat operating out of Vancouver (I think)
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2023
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Solarpunk Travel
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I hadn't considered small boats but definitely should. Thank you for the link!
Some crazies have been spotted using a solar powered electric motor with a diesel generator. Which is nuts. So they have the weight of an electric motor, a diesel engine, diesel fuel, and batteries, and copious points of failure.
The north route with a short ferry accross the Bering strait should be doable on a bicycle 😅
I did look at that but want to avoid traveling to or through dictatorships. Maybe should have mentioned it in the first post but I wanted to avoid that can of worms.
The longest commercial ocean voyage I've taken was 3 hours (from Taiwan to Lanyu) and I was the only person who didn't puke. Next time should be easier.
Is this meant to be a today or a we might do that in the future. For today you have container ships, which offer cabins for paying cutomers. However I am not sure that that is better then flying, given how bad cruise ships are for the enviroment. You can also buy a boat and sail the pacific, that works as well. Some people offer trips on their private sail boats and going island hopping across the Pacific is an option, but a risky one. An ocean going second hand sail boat can be had a reasonable price, if you want to do that. Another one would be to go eastwards and just cross the Atlantic and then go throu Europe, Central Asia and then mainland China towards Taiwan.
However run emissions on those options as well. There is a decent chance that due to longer travel time emissions might be as high as flying.
For today you have container ships, which offer cabins for paying cutomers. However I am not sure that that is better then flying, given how bad cruise ships are for the enviroment.
I did a quick check on costs about ½ year ago. Room and board on a cargo ship is the cheapest non-DiY option AFAIK, which is around $100/day. Crossing the Atlantic in one is ~2—3 weeks. So I think we’re talking $1400 min. for the Atlantic, whereas the cheapest one-way economy flights are ~$500 if you shop it out. So then the question is, couldn’t the difference if $900 be spent in a way that more than offsets the emissions difference between a cargo ship and a flight?
I realize the OP asked about crossing the Pacific, which I guess means the price gap would be even bigger.
Oh, I forgot to mention I read about a bus that goes from London to New York. IIRC it takes a month because it goes the long way around (ferry to continental Europe, east into Russia and to Alaska). Not sure if the ocean between Russia and Alaska freezes well enough or if that’s by ferry. Not sure what the price is either, but a guess the bus would have the lowest emissions.
EDIT: just noticed the OP nixes travel via dictatorships, so that would nix the bus.
So then the question is, couldn’t the difference if $900 be spent in a way that more than offsets the emissions difference between a cargo ship and a flight?
I think that kind of question will end up being one of the main ones in figuring this out, thanks. My general plan right now is to drive to California in a vehicle running on restaurant waste vegetable oil, then take either a plane or container ship, and then once back home, just go nuts making as much biochar as possible.
I saw a Youtube video of a timelapse 10-day trip from Washington state USA to Japan, which is surprisingly decent.
I saw a Youtube video of a timelapse 10-day trip from Washington state USA to Japan, which is surprisingly decent.
Is that via cargo ship?
Personally I think that although container ships are indeed polluting and nasty, traveling on one shouldn't be measured against flying, as airplanes only fly to transport human passengers, without whom they would not fly. Meanwhile, traveling via container ship is more akin to using someone else's waste product since the reason for the container ship making the journey is to deliver non-human cargo, and a few passengers using some spare corner space is just a bonus. I've looked into this option and will look again. Also will look into smaller boats, thanks.
Another option is to 1000x my biochar production to offset emissions.
this video made the rounds a few years back: 30 Days Timelapse at Sea (Piped)
EDIT: Michael Palin did his version of Around the World in 80 Days – episode 6 “Far East and Further East” has him crossing the Pacific on a container ship
this video made the rounds a few years back
Wow! This world is beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.
This guy bought a sailboat for ~$1k and crossed the pacific with it, without a motor:
https://invidious.no-logs.com/watch?v=yaki6QMzCmU
He said a motor & fuel just adds weight & more points of failure, and that the wind is never still for long. I was surprised that $1k sailboat is seaworthy.