It seems Charleston, South Carolina, is a place to be for the wealthy these days, as several billionaire-owned megayachts have been docking in the city's Harbor Marina.
Per marinetraffic.com, a boat-tracking website, the yacht Spectre, owned by billionaire Rob Sands, arrived on Sept. 26, while Hampshire, the cruiser owned by fellow billionaire Andrew Currie, had docked in Charleston on Sept. 20.
According to ABC News, both boats are over 200 feet long, and each costs $70 million or more to purchase, with additional yearly operating costs in the seven-figure range.
In addition to being eyesores and apt symbolic representations of societal woes, superyachts are also environmentally destructive.
As Fortune observed, social scientist Gregory Salle has referred to them as a form of "ecocide" because of their environmental impact.
According to his research, the annual carbon pollution of the top 300 superyachts is almost 285,000 tons, an amount that surpasses that of many small nations.
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Perhaps the damage could be mitigated if the yachts begin to use sails, solar, or greener fuels as a source of power, but for now, most still use diesel engines, exacerbating climate concerns.
While we can't control what the wealthy choose to buy, one way to exercise our influence is by raising awareness of how their luxury purchases, such as superyachts, impact the environment.
Using your purchasing power to support eco-friendly initiatives can also communicate to companies that helping the planet is profitable. You can also choose eco-friendly resorts and hotels when you travel. A number of luxury resorts, including this one in Thailand, are demonstrating there are more sustainable ways to vacation.
Hopefully, with sustained pressure, we can influence the uber-wealthy into purchasing less environmentally destructive totems of wealth than superyachts — and encourage investments in innovation that move the needling toward a cooler, cleaner future.
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