News the Stars Bring Today

On April 11, 2009, two men, Richard Spink and Raoul Sarcoul, sailed out on a ship powered only by solar and wind, headed for the ice caps of Greenland from the port of Plymouth, England (4500 miles). They would then ski across the ice caps and do research for the Bristol Glaciology Centre and also contact school children. Their goal was to teach the importance of leaving a zero carbon footprint.

Their big mistake was not bringing along a supply of traditional fuel, according to Carbon Neutral Expeditions, since their 40 ft yacht, the Fleur, was equipped only with solar panels and a wind turbine. However, according to The Guardian, they ran into a Force 12 hurricane, 400 miles off the coast of Ireland, and had to be rescued. The Overseas Yellowstone that rescued them was carrying 680,000 barrels of crude oil. They are presently headed towards Maine, USA, which is where the ship was headed.

Guess they couldn’t be choosy. Maybe they should plan for the unexpected next time, as this time they were very lucky that a “huge carbon footprint” found them. Also, possibly, they should read up on the latest scientific evidence that shows that global warming is not produced by humans, but rather is a naturally occurring phenomenon produced by solar activity.

Also, according to American Issues Project “if solar and wind energy currently provide only 7% of the US energy consumption compared to coal (from the figures above 76,000 divided by 11.4 million) then it would take several hundred thousand windmills off the coast to provide this kind of power…George W. Bush already doubled wind and solar energy in the previous three years.” Even Ted Kennedy doesn’t want the windmills in his backyard; Senator Feinstein doesn’t want the solar panels in the Mojave Desert.