Fulton's Folly

Recently, I watched an old movie based on Robert Fulton’s idea of building the first successful steam-powered ship in America. It was an old black-and-white movie called Little Old New York. The idea of powering a ship with a steam engine in an era when ships were powered either by oars, or sails, seemed ridiculous. In fact, many people dubbed his idea Fulton’s Folly. People who worked in the maritime industry during the early 1800s came up with many reasons to suggest that the whole concept of steam power would never work. Of course, they had many good reasons such as: “How would a ship with a heavy steam engine be able to carry any cargo?”. There was also a fear of how many people would soon be out of jobs, due to no personnel being required on the ship to rig sails. There was much fear, anxiety, and doubt that this idea of a steamboat would ever “float”. As we all know, his idea worked, and the future of maritime travel and shipping was changed. 

As I watched the movie, it made me think of all the parallels that this story had to the current situation in the trucking industry. There are so many naysayers in regard to the alternative technologies that are being explored on propelling highway transportation into the future. Electric vehicles, hydrogen power, internal combustion engines, and fuel cells, are all being explored as replacements for the fossil-fueled engine’s replacement. 

The arguments back then against Robert Fulton’s idea of propelling a ship with a steam engine, are basically the same now. You hear that batteries are too heavy, or the range is not enough, and of the possible dangers that might be associated with any given new technology. These fears are often unwarranted and are just knee-jerk reactions to a technology that is not understood. After all, fossil fuel has proven to be a reliable fuel that has moved the world’s economy for over a century. However, I feel as though it’s important to keep an open mind and research future technologies. I always like to remind myself that people from the horse and wagon era probably never thought the internal combustion engine could ever compete with the reliable, tried, and true, horse. 

Remember, The Clermont, or Fulton’s Folly as it was widely known, traveled successfully up the Hudson River without a sail. The engineer’s hardships revolutionized river transportation and ocean commerce around the world. It will be interesting to see what technology will supplant fossil fuel’s dominance in moving our planet’s economy during our lifetime.

Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clermont_(steamboat).JPG