Journal of Fundamentals of Renewable Energy and Applications
Open Access
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
ISSN: 2090-4541
+44 1300 500008
Rich and Mary Snow
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, USA
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Fundam Renewable Energy Appl
Sustainability is often promoted as a noble environmental objective but remains a goal that is unattainable for most Americans due to our dependence on a non-renewable, fossil fuel based infrastructure. The first step in achieving a sustainable lifestyle is to realize the need to downsize, which is a notion that can be difficult to embrace. However, once one realizes that less is more, the goal of sustainability is well within reach. For those who are content to stay in one place, a small house or cabin can fill the bill and can be designed for living off the grid. Others who are more adventurous can look to the sea for energy independence. Sailing vessel September sea is a 36 foot ultralight sloop designed by sailboat racing legends Bill Lee and Bruce Farr and built by Lancer Yachts. While the engine is diesel powered, it burns just 0.5 gallons per hour and is only necessary for manuvering in marinas. The rest of the time, the sails serve as the main means of transportation. The boat is equipped with solar panels, a wind generator, a bank of four AGM batteries, an inverter to transform 12 volts into 120 volts, a water maker, a 12 volt refrigerator and a 4000 watt diesel generator to backup the systems and power the air conditioner on those rare hot nights at anchor. This poster depicts the transformation of a simple sailboat into a model of mobile sustainability.
Rich has obtained his PhD in Physical Geography from Indiana State University in 1999 and he is a tenured full Professor of Meteorology in the Department of Applied Aviation Sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. He has written and presented numerous papers on climate change and co-authored the text “Climatology: An Atmospheric Science” published by Pearson Education.
Email: snow4fc@erau.edu