It's faster than kayaking..

I was out kayaking around the inner Sydney Harbour today, not far from our iconic bridge, and saw a rather strange looking vessel on its way to Darling Harbour. Later, I went there to see and photograph the EarthRace which claims to now hold the world record for a powerboat to circle the globe. And the interesting thing is that it is powered solely by renewable biodiesel fuel, including some that was made from cooking oil that otherwise would have been discarded. The mission of the Earthrace team is"to connect with people, and encourage debate and understanding about biofuels, carbon footprints, and the many other aspcts that affect our environmental footprint. "

And it's a positive message - have fun but also tread/cruise lightly. I was thinking this morning about how I could make my little kayak go somewhat further, to explore more of our beautiful waterways. Maybe a solar powered turbine or some other planet friendly device that could extend my range, not quite around the world but maybe to a few islands in the harbour I would like to visit from my home base.

So that's another potential opportunity - a small, portable marine engine that runs on renewable energy for us not quite so fit kayakers and rowers!! Business opportunities in this new energy era do not always have to be large scale investments - there are lots of areas where we need to consider new ways to transport ourselves, whether it's across the globe, or across the harbour.