Transatlantic Crossing By A Solar Powered Boat

4/24/07

Transatlantic Crossing By A Solar Powered Boat

SUN21 MAKES HISTORIC ARRIVAL
INTO NEW YORK HARBOR

Swiss Vessel Completes the First Transatlantic Crossing By A Solar Powered Boat

7,000 Miles Travelled, Not a Drop of Oil Used

The transatlantic21 Association invites you to welcome the arrival of sun21, the first entirely solar-powered vessel to complete a transatlantic crossing. Without using one drop of fossil fuel, sun21 has traveled 7,000 miles from mainland Europe to its final destination, New York.

Tuesday, May 8, 2:45 – 4pm

North Cove Marina, Battery Park City
New York, NY

Remarks by Crew, Swiss Ambassador and Alex Matthiessen, President of Riverkeeper

WHAT: sun21, the solar powered catamaran developed and sponsored by the Swiss transatlantic21 Association, will be making its way through NY harbor on May 8th headed to North Cove Marina for a formal arrival ceremony at 3pm. With a crew of just five, sun21 completed the first transatlantic crossing in a vessel powered solely by the sun. Following Christopher Columbus’s historic route to the Americas, sun21’s journey serves as a powerful example of responsible energy use with wide-ranging applications. This vessel traveled 7,000 nautical miles without a drop of oil.

WHY: The journey represents a tremendous step away from societal dependence on non-renewable energy sources. The applications used in the design of this boat could transform boating and shipping industry with long-term positive impacts on our waterways.

WHO: Ambassador Christoph Bubb, Consul General of Switzerland
Christopher Flavin, President Worldwatch Institute
Crew Members of sun21
Alex Matthiessen, President of Riverkeeper

WHEN: Tuesday, May 8, 2007
2:45pm – 4pm (Program begins at 3:00pm but entrance into North Cove not to be missed)

WHERE: North Cove Marina, Battery Park City - Enter at Liberty Street & South End Avenue.

sun21's voyage and the first annual World Clean Energy Awards is sponsored by the transatlantic21 Association. Somfy and Messe Schweiz are event sponsors. Supporting partners include the THINKSWISS initiative and Riverkeeper.

The transatlantic21 Association was formed exclusively to fund and promote the first transatlantic crossing of sun21 -- a solar powered boat designed by ship builder Mark Wüst.

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Ten Reasons To Say No To Nuclear Power

1. Climate change is underway. Renewable energy can be brought online faster, more cheaply and more safely than nuclear power. 2. Reactors are sitting-duck targets and are not even defended to the ferocity of the 9/11 attacks. 3. Nuclear power is not emissions-free. Reactors routinely release radioactivity and use fossil fuels at every step from uranium mining to waste storage. 4. Building more reactors in the U.S. sends the wrong message abroad. Commercial nuclear technology inevitably leads to nuclear weapons capability. 5. The Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive dump is unsound and even if opened could not accommodate all wastes if generation continues. 6. Evacuation plans are unrealistic. Hurricane Katrina taught us that a mass evacuation during a serious radiological release would be a chaotic catastrophe. 7. A typical 1000 megawatt nuclear reactor produces enough plutonium each year to make 40 atomic bombs, an unacceptable risk. 8. New and old reactors are most prone to break down. U.S. reactors are old. New ones increase the risk of accident. 9. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission—mandated to watchdog the nuclear industry – chooses to protect industry profit over public health and safety. 10. The most defenseless are at the greatest risk—children, the elderly, minorities, the poor and animals—at every phase of the nuclear fuel chain. Ten Brighter Ideas 1. If every U.S. household installed one compact fluorescent light bulb, the power savings would equal the power produced by one nuclear reactor. 1=1! 2. Twenty compact fluorescents in every U.S. home could displace at least 25% of U.S. nuclear reactors. 3. Updated lighting, appliances, heating, cooling and other electrical systems can save more energy than all 103 U.S. reactors produce annually. 4. Cost-effective energy efficiency measures for homes and businesses can save at least 20% of electricity use. 5. Turning off and unplugging electrical equipment not in use and line-drying clothes seem like small measures but can make a big difference. 6. Homeowners and renters alike can choose to buy green power instead of nuclear generated electricity. 7. Properly sealing and insulating your home can save 25%-40% of building heat loss. 8. Renewable energy sources can meet 25% of U.S. energy needs by 2025. 9. Shifting to locally-generated electricity avoids waste, reduces brownouts and blackouts, increases efficiency of service and creates jobs. 10. Every dollar spent on nuclear power instead of fossil fuels results in releasing six times more carbon than if the same dollar is spent on efficiency. www.nirs.org 301.270.6477

"The No Nuker" - where No Nukes is good news !

4/24/07