Solar Panels vs. Cornfields, Ship Happens, & Health Risks on Cruises
Good morning from The Workday Dash — where the corn’s getting fired, the ships are in hot water, and the cruises are...literally in hot water. 🌽🚢🛟
Here’s what’s making waves today:
🔹 A new Cornell study says swapping just 3.2% of corn-for-ethanol farmland for solar panels could replace all our ethanol energy — and save a ton of land, water, and fertilizer while we're at it.
🔹 New maritime rules meant to flex U.S. shipbuilding could end up torpedoing our own LNG exports.
🔹 And Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas is back in the headlines after another case of Legionnaires' disease — because nothing says “dream vacation” like a CDC advisory.
Energy, trade, and tourism are all having a moment...and not exactly the good kind.
“Whenever I meet a successful CEO, I ask them how they did it. Mediocre CEOs point to their brilliant strategic moves or their intuitive business sense or a variety of other self-congratulatory explanations. The great CEOs tend to be remarkably consistent in their answers: They all say, ‘I didn’t quit.’”
Cornfields or solar fields? 🌽☀️ Maybe it’s time to rethink "tradition."
A new Cornell study found that if we swapped just 3.2% of U.S. corn-for-ethanol farmland for solar panels, we could replace all the energy ethanol currently gives us — using way less land, water, and fertilizer.
Bonus points: Solar farms can double as wildlife habitats, support pollinators, and put more money in farmers' pockets (up to 3–4x more per acre).
✅ Why It Matters:
For transportation and logistics, cheaper, cleaner energy = lower freight costs and less pressure on agricultural supply chains. Plus, if energy grids get smarter and more decentralized, it could change how and what we move across the country.
🔥 Hot Take:
Corn ethanol isn’t the American dream — it’s the participation trophy of energy policy. Solar’s out here winning championships.
The U.S. LNG industry just hit the panic button. 🚨⚓
New maritime rules are aiming to boost U.S. shipbuilding and put pressure on China — but they could backfire hard on U.S. energy exports.
✅ Heavy tariffs are coming for Chinese-built ships
✅ LNG exporters will have to shift to U.S.-flagged vessels
✅ Problem? We don’t have enough ships… or shipyards to build them in time
The $34 billion LNG export market — a huge piece of America’s "energy dominance" play — is now at risk.
And if energy exports get jammed up, it’s not just LNG prices that go up. It’s everything tied to freight: port congestion, higher rates, and tighter supply chains.
🔥 Hot Take:
You can’t flex as an energy superpower when you’re stuck in drydock. Right now, America’s LNG dominance is floating on duct tape and good vibes.
When "all aboard" turns into "all infected" — it’s a problem. 🚢🛟
A recent case of Legionnaires’ disease was linked to Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas — and it's not the first. Private balcony hot tubs (yes, the fancy ones) have been flagged before for not being maintained as strictly as public ones. Royal Caribbean followed CDC protocols and amped up sanitation, but it’s a reminder: health risks don’t just stay onboard.
Why It Matters:
An outbreak (or even just the fear of one) can mess with passenger volumes, port schedules, and the entire cruise supply chain — from food to fuel. And what happens on cruise ships today could ripple into ports, ferries, and terminals tomorrow.
🔥 Hot Take:
One bad hot tub, and suddenly you’re not cruising — you’re bruising your entire season’s revenue.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for July 17, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.