Onlooker grows suspicious after spotting mysterious vessel lingering in local harbor: 'Any info?'

"You're going to need a bigger boat." Some folks take this iconic line from Jaws to heart and think that yachts the size of a football field are a reasonable idea.

This Redditor posted on a yacht-focused subreddit, "Got off our charter and was greeted by this monstrosity. Any info?" 

The original poster went on to call it "gorgeous," but the idea that anyone would need a 270-foot yacht is a bit of an ugly one when you consider how many resources are needed to build and run one.

Excessiveness like this isn't just an eyesore; it's also damaging to the environment. Megayachts (more than 230 feet in length) in particular "emit more carbon than many small countries," reported the Guardian. "'Megayachts' are environmentally indefensible."

Roman Abramovich, former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, was once one of the world's top collectors of these particularly large yachts. Aside from the fact that these yachts allegedly provided means for a scheme through which Abramovich evaded millions in taxes, his fleet of yachts and their accompanying helicopters release more than 22,000 tons of carbon annually.

In Bloomberg, a French sociologist condemns the ultra-rich's propensity to buy bigger and bigger yachts as a form of "'ecocide' for the heavy toll they're taking on the planet."

If the rich must have their yachts, then hopefully, the wave of technological advances in clean energy for these vessels will continue to gain momentum. Silent Yachts has recognized this ethical dilemma and introduced solar-powered yachts. Hydrogen-powered yachts, such as the one reportedly commissioned by Bill Gates, are also being developed.

The ultra-rich will probably never stop seeking bigger and flashier boats, but at least some may eventually be powered by cleaner energy, though even hydrogen needs to be produced using renewable energy such as solar for it to be a low-polluting energy form.

At least one Redditor wasn't impressed with the display.

"My preferred way to learn about this vessel would be to sink it," one comment read, presumably with sarcasm, "and then watch the news about it."

Do you think solar farms are an eyesore? Definitely 💯 Not at all 🙅 It depends where they are 👀 I've never seen one 🤷 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.