this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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Solarpunk technology
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Technology for a Solar-Punk future.
Airships and hydroponic farms...
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Really fun and all, but it's obsolete by alternative forms of transport. Like a helicopter for example. It can fly almost always, maybe lift a third of an airship, but an airship can't fly with anything more then just a little bit of wind. The very instances where an airship prevails over other forms of transport are so few, there's no market for it. But that doesn't stop startup companies to hoard money, build prototypes, develop super awesome machines, then to discover it's useless and obsolete while having burned load of money and producing massive amounts of carbon emissions. The concept is really great, but only in perfect weather conditions. But still 3 helicopter flights could do what an airship could, but faster and more reliable. Or trains or ships. There's no gap in forms of transportation that needs filling.
Yeah but helicopters require fuel and I don't know if you've been paying attention, but using fuel makes climate change happen.
Companies choosing profits over climate make climate change happen. Those companies rather use more reliable, cheaper and faster helicopters. Have fun convincing them to cut deeply into their profits to save the environment. Look, people in general should care more about our planet but they just don't give a shit.
You could make the exact same argument for any mode of transportation. And there are many possible applications for airships that are not possible with current technology, for example 100% carbon free overland travel in remote areas.
The wind issue is also not nearly as bad as you make it sound. Basically it is only a problem during start and landing or very high winds (which are also problematic for helicopters during start and landing). If you have small electric quad-copters that shuttle passengers and cargo to and from the airships it is basically a non-issue.
Plus there's a design for one with a winch system that can lift sea cans up into its cargo bay without landing at all.
Yet other forms of transportation already exist and are well developed. Out of the years of experience in development we know that speed and efficiency is key. We need to move goods as cheap and fast as possible.
Airships were only abandoned because in the 1930ties fuel was extremely cheap and military applications for airplanes reigned supreme. Airships are actually vastly more efficient than airplanes and fast enough to beat most other modes of transportation.
Planes are less efficient, but extremely fast. Weight to speed ratio, airships are a joke compared to ships. Transportation with airship is way more expensive then a container ship. It may be better for the environment, but companies care about profits, and it's the companies using the service. Either it needs to travel fast for more money with planes, or slow in bulk for cheap. Slow and expensive makes no sense. It makes sense to you and me, caring about the enviroment. But I'm not importing and exporting goods on a massive scale.
Ships don't work on land, and trains/trucks require expensive infrastructure.
Once the technology for airships is out of the re-development phase again it will favour very well cost-wise against other land-based options (of course container-shipping is hard to beat).
Trains need expensive infrastructure, yes, but it's already there.
I sure hope airships make it, as it could be a very eco friendly alternative. But I highly doubt it will be able to win from conventional forms of transportation.
buddy what are you not getting about "fuel makes the planet hot we should seek alternatives"
also we superduper do not need to move goods as cheap and as fast as possible, that's some capitalist dogmatic brainwashing
It's companies which are the ones moving the goods. I agree we all should change, I'm against capitalism, but good luck convincing companies to cut deeply into their profits.