
Could we go back to wind-powered ships—and eliminate commercial shipping’s carbon emissions—by rediscovering a clever nautical innovation that we abandoned a century ago?
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For thousands of years, we sailed our cargo across oceans using zero-emission, 100 percent renewable wind. Then we switched to ships that run on oil, creating a global maritime fleet that pumps greenhouse gases into the sky. Could we go back to wind-powered ships by rediscovering a clever nautical innovation that we abandoned a century ago?
Email: secrethistory@slate.com
Podcast production by Bart Warshaw and Kate Holland.
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