A Sailor's Carbon Offset

[islanderp40]

OK, I navigate the link and put in my 2 cents worth.

We'll see what happens.

[john manning]

The original post shows clearly that carbon tax is a political tool not an environmental one.

Taking this matter seriously (reluctantly so) the true carbon cost of an activity is very different from carbon consumption day to day. As others have said the carbon cost of producing a fiberglass yacht is enormous. A work colleague of my wife, who is a chemical engineer, showed me a calculation on total lifetime carbon cost for both a petrol powered car and an electric car. They were nearly equal.

The carbon output from China looks very different when you calculate it on a per head of population basis. Using that form of carbon cost, it's countries like Australia and USA that look worst. So another way of looking at this is that the high consumption lifestyle of western european countries is the problem. May be its too many lifestylers on yachts like us.

[Buzzman]

Here's the first mistake, right here:


"Carbon that is chemically bound into manufactured products such as plastics but is not burned will not be taxed."


All non-recyclable carbon should be taxed, that way plastics (including boat resins) would be more expensive than they are, reflecting the lifetime lifecycle damage/pollution they actually cause.

This would rate fibreglass boats as inherently polluting, just from their manufacture, never mind disposal, and require offsets. Such as paying a carbon tax at purchase.


In my very carefully considered opinion, a 'plastic' boat is not more or less polluting than a bunch of single use plastic yoghurt containers, or single use plastic bags or wrapping. There's just a lot more of it in the one space. (And of course, it has a much longer 'usable lifespan' than a yoghurt container - but plastic is plastic, at the end of the day).



Right now we see 'carbon pollution' as the big bogeyman, but what we have done with that carbon (e.g. plastic waste) is fast becoming an even bigger problem.


By 2050 some scientists believe we will all have microplastics embedded in our bodies, or traces thereof.


Plastic waste, esp. microplastics, is fast becoming a 'thing' to worry about in the ocean food chain, at which we are the head...


The problem with offsets as anything but a 'temporary arrangement' is that they are, unavoidably, 'cheating the system'.... providing a 'license to pollute' if you like.


Ultimately we need to find ways to re-use the plastics currently in the world, and stop making **** that can't be reused.


One of the main reasons recycled plastic feedstock is not more widely used is that it is still cheaper to make fresh new raw feedstock. That needs to be taxed/priced so that the recycled stuff is similar in price.


There's lots more that we *could* be doing, but aren't.... Yet.

[Icarus]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

If the credits are paid in beer, I'm in .

I agree..

[Colin Stone]

Whilst the wind is free, harnessing it with oil based sails and ropes is not much better than using the oil in an engine. And probably less processing to produce fuel than fibres.
Steve Dashew www.setsail.com and the "unsail" boat.
Perhaps a return to wood, canvas and hemp??

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Thats the spirit![emoji1303]

My spirit is Black Bush

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

My spirit is Black Bush

Ah, that sweet nectar of the gods. Love it .

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

My spirit is Black Bush

Never tried it, but will now.

Why is price much cheaper than the Scotish single malt whiskey ?

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Never tried it, but will now.

Why is price much cheaper than the Scotish single malt whiskey ?

Because it's Irish

[SeaStory]

Originally Posted by Colin Stone

Whilst the wind is free, harnessing it with oil based sails and ropes is not much better than using the oil in an engine. And probably less processing to produce fuel than fibres.
Steve Dashew www.setsail.com and the "unsail" boat.
Perhaps a return to wood, canvas and hemp??

It takes less than half a gallon of crude to produce a pound of plastic. So a barrel can produce about 10 gallons of diesel or 84 pounds of plastic. Now, the diesel will also result in other products, since the diesel itself is a byproduct of gasoline, for example. We also seem to be coming up with ways to use the plastics for fuels, although I haven't read anything technical enough to know whether or not that includes Dacron. I also don't have the Google ** to find out the relevant efficiency, partly because the US mostly uses natural gas, not crude oil, to produce plastics these days.

If we assume that the entire weight of my boat is plastic (which it isn't), that would be about 220 barrels of crude, which at 10 gallons of diesel per barrel would power my boat at cruising speed for about 3000 hours (I am rounding everything off here). I was told my boat had 6000 hours on the engine, so right there, the engine doubled the oil useage. Five gallons of motor oil once a year for the last 34 years hardly even makes a dent in calculations. Sails and lines replaced every ten years or so, our new sails and lines would be the fourth set, but one set is included in the current lift weight of the boat (the old ones - the new 3Di are meant to be lighter). Shall we say another 100 barrels? And then there is all the money spent on plastic storage options. I swear I need to throw in an extra barrel just for that.

So, 761 barrels of oil over 34 years. That comes to 220 gallons of diesel and 425 gallons of gasoline per year. That means filling my car's gas tank less than once a week and one year's worth of diesel covers what we have used in the last seven years.

The interwebz inform me that I burn more than that total with one flight to see our families (oops, I didn't even account for getting home again!). As mentioned, the jet fuel is produced concurrently with the diesel and gasoline, but I actually feel better about my boat after running these numbers, rather than worse.

[skenn_ie]

Originally Posted by Pelagic

Never tried it, but will now.

Why is price much cheaper than the Scotish single malt whiskey ?

Single Malts are always more expensive than blends, though I don't know if B.B. is a blend.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by SeaStory

It takes less than half a gallon of crude to produce a pound of plastic. So a barrel can produce about 10 gallons of diesel or 84 pounds of plastic. Now, the diesel will also result in other products, since the diesel itself is a byproduct of gasoline, for example. We also seem to be coming up with ways to use the plastics for fuels, although I haven't read anything technical enough to know whether or not that includes Dacron. I also don't have the Google ** to find out the relevant efficiency, partly because the US mostly uses natural gas, not crude oil, to produce plastics these days.

If we assume that the entire weight of my boat is plastic (which it isn't), that would be about 220 barrels of crude, which at 10 gallons of diesel per barrel would power my boat at cruising speed for about 3000 hours (I am rounding everything off here). I was told my boat had 6000 hours on the engine, so right there, the engine doubled the oil useage. Five gallons of motor oil once a year for the last 34 years hardly even makes a dent in calculations. Sails and lines replaced every ten years or so, our new sails and lines would be the fourth set, but one set is included in the current lift weight of the boat (the old ones - the new 3Di are meant to be lighter). Shall we say another 100 barrels? And then there is all the money spent on plastic storage options. I swear I need to throw in an extra barrel just for that.

So, 761 barrels of oil over 34 years. That comes to 220 gallons of diesel and 425 gallons of gasoline per year. That means filling my car's gas tank less than once a week and one year's worth of diesel covers what we have used in the last seven years.

The interwebz inform me that I burn more than that total with one flight to see our families (oops, I didn't even account for getting home again!). As mentioned, the jet fuel is produced concurrently with the diesel and gasoline, but I actually feel better about my boat after running these numbers, rather than worse.

Dacron is a trade name of polyester fabric and yes it can be made into fuel

https://youtu.be/njIYHtFmcSs

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by skenn_ie

Single Malts are always more expensive than blends, though I don't know if B.B. is a blend.

Black bush is a single malt made by bushmills

[dannc]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Black bush is a single malt made by bushmills

Black Bush is a blend, or, err, a marriage.

https://bushmills.com/whiskeys/black-bush/

Bushmills BLACK BUSH Irish Whiskey combines an exceptionally high amount of malt whiskey married with a lighter grain whiskey, and then matured in former Oloroso Sherry and Bourbon casks.

Notice they did not use the word blend but married. That does not make it less good either.

If I really wanted to stir the pot, pun intended, is it Irish if it is made in Northern Ireland?

I do want to visit Bushmills one day. We almost made it last trip to Ireland. We did visit Teeling's distillery in Dublin which is the first new distillery in Dublin in over a century. Thankfully, new distilleries have been opened in other places in Ireland and Northern Ireland. One of the new distilleries in Northern Ireland is accessible by boat. Yet another reason to return to the Island of Ireland.

Later,
Dan

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by dannc

Black Bush is a blend, or, err, a marriage.

https://bushmills.com/whiskeys/black-bush/

Notice they did not use the word blend but married. That does not make it less good either.

If I really wanted to stir the pot, pun intended, is it Irish if it is made in Northern Ireland?

I do want to visit Bushmills one day. We almost made it last trip to Ireland. We did visit Teeling's distillery in Dublin which is the first new distillery in Dublin in over a century. Thankfully, new distilleries have been opened in other places in Ireland and Northern Ireland. One of the new distilleries in Northern Ireland is accessible by boat. Yet another reason to return to the Island of Ireland.

Later,
Dan

I would have to go for rum in payment .
Mount Gay will do in a pinch .
Would love to tour them .
https://www.mountgayrum.com/

Well over 300 years continuously distilled in Barbados.