Can Massive Cargo Ships Use Wind to Go Green?

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/24/magazine/cargo-ships-emissions.html

Source: By Aurora Almendral, The New York Times. 

Excerpt: Cargo vessels belch almost as much carbon into the air each year as the entire continent of South America. Modern sails could have a surprising impact. ...Allwright had previously spent 10 years working with a group that tried to build small cargo ships that would run on wind power to eliminate their carbon footprint. It underscored for him that sails aren’t a relic of the past. At the most fundamental level, the way modern sails work is similar to the way sails did a thousand years ago: As wind moves against their curves, it creates a high-pressure system on one side and a low-pressure system on the other, resulting in a forward thrust that pushes the ship along. But the design, materials and size of modern sails, along with the ships’ movements, allow them to harness significantly more power from the wind than the cloth sails of the past — enough so that they can move a huge cargo vessel. In conjunction with fuel, modern sails can power ships with something close to the speed and predictability to which the global economy is accustomed.... 

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