From new sources of energy and nutritious food to limitless biodiversity and potential settlement sites the ocean is the last great unexploited frontier on earth. This blog is a window into that future, and seeks to advance discussion on how new technologies, consumer practices and business models can create an ecologically and economically sustainable future on and in the seas. Over the next decade, a convergence of economic, climatological and technological forces will bring the oceans back to the forefront as a new frontier for human activity
Teaching Kids About Sustainable Blue in Baltimore
Published by Anthony Townsend on April 15th, 2008
Wandering along Baltimore's Inner Harbor after a meeting yesterday, I came upon a number of historic working sailing craft operated by a remarkable organization, the Living Classrooms Foundation.
From their About page:
"Living Classrooms Foundation is a non-profit organization, operated for the benefit of the community at large, providing hands-on education and job skills training for students from diverse backgrounds, with a special emphasis on serving at-risk youth. read more »
Shipping Water
Published by Anthony Townsend on April 13th, 2008
The Blue Economy is rife with wacky get-rich-quick schemes that have gone nowhere like Patrick Quilty's quest to tow icebergs to relieve droughts in Africa.
But as cities like Barcelona start to set up fairly mundane schemes to ship in drinking water, you've got to wonder if maybe the time is right for entrepreneurs to get in on the international water trade. An article in the New Scientist summarizes some major international flows of water: read more »
Technology Review: Wind Power That Floats
Published by Anthony Townsend on April 2nd, 2008
Technology Review reports today on a number of pilot deployments later this year of floating offshore deep-water wind turbines, which will break from the prevailing model of fixed-platform near shore platforms.
Paul Sclavounos, a mechanical engineer and a specialist in naval architecture at MIT, whose lab is designing both kinds of structures for offshore turbines, says that both companies have chosen viable flotation methods.... read more »
The Next Age of Air "ships"?
Published by Anthony Townsend on April 1st, 2008
Back in the early days of commercial aviation, the line between ships and planes wasn't as clear as it is today. When I was living in the Bay Area, we frequently used to anchor my sailboat in Clipper Cove between Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island (the island that the Bay Bridge passes through to you landlubbers). Why "Clipper Cove"? Because that's where they used to hangar the famed China Clippers. read more »
Hyundai Turns It Tools to Undersea Tidal Power British company to build world's largest tidal power scheme - Telegraph
Published by Anthony Townsend on March 19th, 2008
Having lived in South Korea during the summer of 2004, I can tell you that electrical power is wildly expensive there. Many a day I suffered through the sweltering heat rather than pay through the teeth for cool air. Korea's an interesting place when thinking about sustainability. With limited resources and land, they really have no choice... and anything they develop can be refined in the domestic market, and then mass produced for the Chinese market. Samsung isn't becoming a global electronics leader for nothing.
From The Telegraph: read more »
Small Fish Are Mine Canaries for Sydney's Water Supply
Published by Anthony Townsend on March 17th, 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald has a cute piece about 8 Australian rainbow fish that the city's water authorities use as a kind of "mine canary" or living probe in the fresh water supply. The fish are extremely sensitive to any disruption of the water quality.
So far the fish have yet to trigger any alarms, real or false. read more »
DHS Establishes Homeland Security Centers of Excellence
Published by Anthony Townsend on March 14th, 2008
The Department of Homeland Security established a number of new Centers of Excellence, two of which seems destined to become new regional centers for blue economy development: read more »
BEP for FEBRUARY 2008
Published by Adam Gruen on March 4th, 2008
Steady as she goes, Helmsman!
Yes, it's raining. What's your point?
INITIALIZATION 01 SEP 2007: $100,000.00
CASH AVAILABLE 01 FEB 2008: $ 88,087.02
PURCHASES IN FEBRUARY 2008:
CWCO 50 at $23.44 = $1172.00
FNVRF 5000 at $0.198 = $990.00
ADDS IN FEBRUARY 2008:
$ 85,925.02 at 0.42% = $ 360.89
CASH AVAILABLE END FEBRUARY 2008: $86,285.91
END FEBRUARY 2008 BEI VALUES:
AUTLY 130 $21.95 = $2853.50
BWTR 150 $ 7.77 = $1165.50
CRRP 500 $ 1.40 = $ 700.00
CWCO 90 $21.32 = $1918.80
ETC 300 $ 1.85 = $ 555.00
FNVRF 5000 $0.148 = $ 740.00
LUNA 300 $ 6.73 = $2019.00 read more »
Second Age of Sail
Published by Adam Gruen on February 25th, 2008
A special tip o' the cap to Reed Hedges for noting these two stories.
The MS Beluga Skysails, a cargo vessel that uses a towing kite system to achieve better shipping fuel economy, completed its first shipment this week. See http://www.climatebiz.com/sections/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=55596
Meanwhile, shipping wine by sailing ship! What will they think of next? Tea from China? See http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/24/food.carbonemissions
The Scope of the Blue Economy
Published by Anthony Townsend on February 22nd, 2008
A new study in Science, cited in Scientific American gives us a sense of the potential size of the Blue Economy - as measured by the impacted area of the ocean wilderness: read more »
