Children receive free food as part of the government initiative in Caracas, Venezuela on March 23, 2020. Carlos Becerra / Getty Images
By Dongyu Qu
Even as it takes its distressing toll, the current pandemic has generated a flurry of less somber memes. Some of these involve people stuck at home, unable to tear themselves from the pantry, piling on the pounds. But for many in the developing world, the lockdowns mean the exact opposite: they cannot get anywhere near the pantry.
<p>Take the closure of schools. In the global North, this is an inconvenience for parents. E-learning platforms aside, it is also an educational setback for students, especially if it entails <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/31/china-and-korea-delay-college-exams-to-keep-lid-on-coronavirus" target="_blank">postponing exams</a>. Yet dispiriting as this all is, it is not a vital threat.</p><p>By contrast, for many children in the global South – <a href="http://www.fao.org/americas/noticias/ver/en/c/1266855/" target="_blank">85 million in Latin America and the Caribbean alone</a> – school closures mean no more school meals. Which in turn (in some African households in particular) means an end to the only hot meal anyone among family members would get in a day.</p><p>Already before the coronavirus crisis, more than 820 million people went to bed hungry. This is an enormous number to grapple with, not just morally but from a policy perspective. The world has, after all, committed to <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/" target="_blank">ending all forms of hunger and malnutrition</a> by 2030.</p><p>Across the globe, the public policy response to the pandemic has been guided by the imperative to preserve life and health, and rightly so. But an unwanted repercussion could be to deepen hunger even further – possibly very soon.</p><p>Unlike in the crisis of 2007/2008, and despite anecdotal reports of empty supermarket shelves, the risk today is not one of immediate shortages. The global supply of food remains strong. The big question mark hangs over supply chains.</p><p>There is evidence that quarantine regulations and partial port closures are causing slowdowns and logistical hurdles in the <a href="https://www.nepia.com/industry-news/coronavirus-outbreak-impact-on-shipping/" target="_blank">shipping industry</a>. Amid border restrictions, trucking faces similar threats.</p>
<p>The concern is not all about ready consumables: transport constraints can drastically affect the supply of fertilizers, veterinary drugs and other agricultural inputs. The shuttered restaurants and less frequent shopping trips are meanwhile curbing demand and will ultimately depress output. In the West, reduced labor mobility threatens to leave <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/26/world/europe/26reuters-health-coronavirus-germany-food.html" target="_blank">some seasonal crops</a> rotting in the fields and deprive producers of their livelihoods. In Africa, during the Ebola crisis, food production plummeted by 12%.</p><p>Much like in the public health sphere, where the virus's impact explodes into view weeks after the initial contagion, the cumulative effects of such market disruption, while not dramatic yet, will likely become apparent as early as this month. Yes, well-nourished citizens in wealthy countries may weather a couple of months without some fresh or imported produce. But in the developing world, a child malnourished at a young age will be <a href="https://www.who.int/nutrition/healthygrowthproj_stunted_videos/en/" target="_blank">stunted for life</a>.</p>
<p>This is why there is no time to waste. Governments, even as they prioritize public health goals, must do everything in their power to keep trade routes open and supply chains alive. Policymakers should without delay convene food industry and farmer representatives to identify bottlenecks and work out ways to smooth them out. They must decide which categories of agricultural laborers should be designated as critical staff and – while in no way undermining due protective measures – allow them to continue moving and working as needed. Systems must be aligned to ensure that global information on food prices, consumption and stocks flows widely and in real-time.</p><p>Blanket closures, tighter commercial controls and inward-looking policies are a default setting in times of crisis. Such measures tend to be short-sighted. Now more than ever, we need international co-operation and supple arrangements to preserve the fluidity of global food markets. Coronavirus is threatening to shut down the world as we know it. We should not make its job any easier.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-worsen-hunger-developing-world?fbclid=IwAR0Z31X3cumlA2nHyBaplhxKgV0BFH2fhte2YZPK8TYNuDkXfAe8NBbzJxg" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Large storage tank of Ammonia at a fertilizer plant in Cubatão, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Luis Veiga / The Image Bank / Getty Images
The shipping industry is coming to grips with its egregious carbon footprint, as it has an outsized contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and to the dumping of chemicals into open seas. Already, the global shipping industry contributes about 2 percent of global carbon emissions, about the same as Germany, as the BBC reported.
<p>In its efforts to clean up its act, the industry is looking to stop burning diesel and is exploring using ammonia as its fuel source. When ammonia burns, it does not create carbon dioxide emissions, as the BBC reported.</p>
<p>Recently, the European Union awarded just over $11 million to the ShipFC project, which is composed of 14 firms looking to make maritime shipping a bit greener. The money will be used to outfit a shipping vessel used by Norwegian energy company Equinor that has been running on diesel for 17 years with ammonia fuel cells, as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/24/equinor-to-run-ship-fitted-with-ammonia-fuel-cells.html" target="_blank">CNBC reported</a>.</p>
<p>"Together with Equinor, we are now launching a full-scale research project to test a propulsion solution based on fuel cells running on pure and emission-free ammonia," Jan Fredrik Meling, who is the CEO of Eidesvik Offshore, which made the ship, said according to CNBC.</p>
<p>"The goal is to install fuel cell modules with a total power of 2 MW (megawatts) on board Viking Energy in 2024," he added. "This will make the vessel the world's first emission-free supply vessel."</p>
<p>One of the hang-ups right now is that making ammonia is actually a huge source of carbon emissions, according to a report from the <a href="https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/low-carbon-energy-programme/green-ammonia" target="_blank">Royal Society</a>. Ammonia production actually accounts for 1.8 percent of global CO2 emissions, which is by far the most of any chemical, as the BBC reported.</p>
<p>While producing ammonia is carbon-intensive, scientists believe that a cleaner, carbon-free way to produce ammonia will happen soon, either by trapping CO2 and burying it or by creating 'green' ammonia, according to the Royal Society report.</p>
<p>"We see a very big interest from the market in ammonia as a fuel – even though there are challenges," Peter Kirkeby, a spokesman for Man Energy Solutions, which is making ammonia powered engines, said to the BBC. "We expect the first ships fuelled with ammonia will be existing tankers that are already transporting ammonia for fertilizer. They know how to handle it."</p>
<p>Some of the largest names in shipping are getting behind the effort to use the fertilizer by-product as an alternative to shipping fuel. Recently, Korean Register, which verifies and certifies ships worldwide, touted ammonia as a viable clean energy since it does not require a large amount of technical expertise to use as fuel.</p>
<p>"The strength of ammonia is that it is relatively easy to store due to the rational energy, density and liquefaction temperature compared to hydrogen, the production and transport costs are lower compared to other carbon-neutral fuels, and has the technology for stable production and transport," a Korean Register technical report said, as <a href="https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/bunkering/korean-register-backs-ammonia-viable-carbon-free-marine-fuel" target="_blank">Seatrade Maritime News reported</a>. </p>
<p>However, there are still caveats. For example, ammonia does not burn as efficiently as diesel. It also creates nitrogen oxides, which are greenhouse gasses. However, the Royal Society report is optimistic that technology will address those problems, according to the BBC. </p>
<p>"Ammonia is the only zero-carbon fuel that will get you across the oceans," said the Royal Society's lead author, Bill David, as the BBC reported. And yet, he added, "In terms of emissions from industrial processes, ammonia comes only after cement and steel, so we need to decarbonize the production of ammonia."</p>
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The oldest living male in the southern resident killer whale community, L41, seen above in the Strait of Juan de Fuca is missing and feared dead. MarkMalleson / iStock / Getty Images
Yet another endangered southern resident orca is missing, and researchers fear he is dead.
<p>The whale, known as L41 or Mega, was the largest and oldest of all southern resident orca males. He was a significant member of the embattled group of killer whales who swim between the waters of Washington and Canada. He and another whale fathered most of the orcas born to the group after 1990, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/another-southern-resident-orca-feared-dead/" target="_blank">The Seattle Times reported</a>. But when researchers encountered his family last Friday, he was not with them.<br></p><p>"He was just a really big personality, and a big whale, and of course he was an important member of his family," Deborah Giles, a research scientist at the University of Washington's <a href="http://conservationbiology.uw.edu/" target="_blank">Center for Conservation Biology</a> and the research director of the nonprofit <a href="http://www.wildorca.org/" target="_blank">Wild Orca</a>, told The Seattle Times. "I am going to miss seeing him."</p><p>The news of L41's disappearance came when the <a href="https://www.whaleresearch.com/" target="_blank">Center for Whale Research</a> (CWR) <a href="https://www.whaleresearch.com/2020-2" target="_blank">reported</a> its second orca encounter of 2020 on Jan. 24.</p><p>"Unfortunately, L41 was not present for the entire encounter. Given his age and that he looked a little thin in our January 2019 encounter, we fear he may be gone and will consider him missing unless he shows up unexpectedly in an upcoming encounter," CWR staff member Dave Ellifrit wrote.</p>
<div id="2dd2f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="22YWWF1580409039"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1222228218142326784" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This was CWR’s first encounter with the L12s in inshore waters in over a year. Last year’s calf, L124, looked good… https://t.co/eTkVZEmcrz</div> — Whale Research (@Whale Research)<a href="https://twitter.com/CWROrcas/statuses/1222228218142326784">1580236889.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Mega was last seen in August 2019 when he was photographed by Mark Malleson.</p><p>Mega was born in 1977 and fathered 21 calves. He was also a physically iconic whale, as The Seattle Times described:</p><blockquote>He was a classically beautiful orca bull, with a towering dorsal fin, rising straight without a waver from his back. Big and powerful, he was easy to spot and the only adult male left in his immediate family. A nick on the trailing edge of his dorsal made him easily identifiable, along with his massive size, from a long distance.</blockquote><p>If he is truly gone, it will bring the number of southern resident killer whales down to 72, the second-lowest since counting began 45 years ago. There were 71 recorded in 1976 during a time when a third of the whales were captured and sent to aquariums.</p><p>While killer whales around the world are doing well, the southern resident whales are threatened with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/species-extinction" target="_self">extinction</a>, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/30/us/endangered-orca-missing-dead-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN explained</a>. This is due to a combination of factors including noise and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/shipping-industry" target="_self">shipping</a> traffic, but the biggest threat faced by the species is the disappearance of chinook <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/salmon" target="_self">salmon</a>, its chief food.</p><p>When the orcas have less salmon to eat, they rely on their stores of fat, which are filled with accumulated toxins that make the whales sick, <a href="https://www.orcaconservancy.org/" target="_blank">Orca Conservancy</a> President Shari Tarantino told CNN.</p>
<p>To address this problem, environmental advocates argue that the Snake River dams should be breached. One study found that if only four of 15 were removed, the population of salmon would double or triple. </p>
<p>"(Killer whales) are at the top of the food chain," Tarantino told CNN. "So when they're failing, everything beneath in the ecosystem is failing. That is a huge warning. It would be an absolute mess."</p>
<p>However, there was a silver lining to Friday's orca encounter. L124, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/new-calf-southern-resident-orcas-2625954104.html" target="_self">a calf born last year and named Lucky</a>, was present and looked healthy. It is a big deal for an orca calf to live a full year, The Seattle Times said.</p>
<p>And not everyone is convinced Mega is truly gone.</p>
<p>"I'm not buying it," former whale-watch boat captain Hobbes Buchanan told The Seattle Times. "He may have wandered off to do his own thing, and will come back. I am totally just not giving up."</p>
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A shipping port seen near Seattle, Washington with Mr. Ranier in the background. Aaron Hockley / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
A major conglomerate in the global shipping industry wants to start a fuel tax to raise money for zero-carbon ships within a decade, as the AP reported.
<p>The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), which represents 80 percent of the global shipping industry, is proposing to create an NGO called the International Maritime Research and Development Board, which would be funded by a two-dollar levy on every ton of fuel a ship consumes. It would then use the roughly $500 million it makes every year from the tax for the research and development of zero-carbon ships to overhaul the industry, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/zero-carbon-ships-on-horizon-under-fuel-levy-plan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>It is thought that ships fueled by hydrogen or ammonia are possible, but prototypes have not yet been created. Ships use notably carbon-intensive fuel. The heavy-fuel that ships require is loaded with contaminants in addition to carbon, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/zero-carbon-ships-on-horizon-under-fuel-levy-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>"This is a very positive proposal," said Guy Platten, the secretary general of the ICS, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/zero-carbon-ships-on-horizon-under-fuel-levy-plan" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a> reported. "We need to get to zero carbon [for shipping] and this is a transparent mechanism for raising funds that we need to help us do that. We have worked for years on this with the support of our members."</p>
<p>The global shipping industry creates roughly three percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, which roughly equivalent to all of Germany's output, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50827604" target="_blank">BBC</a> reported. </p>
<p>Right now, fuel costs $400 per ton, which is expected to rise to $600 per ton next year when new regulations go into effect to cut sulfur emissions from ship's oil, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/zero-carbon-ships-on-horizon-under-fuel-levy-plan" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. </p>
<p>Platten defended the small size of the levy to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50827604" target="_blank">BBC</a>, arguing it was large enough to generate a significant amount of revenue, but small enough to get the members of the ICS to agree to it.</p>
<p>"I have seen a massive change in the opinion of ships' owners over the past few years," Platten told the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50827604" target="_blank">BBC</a>. "They've realized that we've got to do our bit by decarbonizing shipping - and that means designing zero-carbon ships. That's why we need the levy. At the moment we can't yet see what the best clean fuel would be for ships. But there's a real urgency about solving the problem."</p>
<p>Ship owners could see the writing on the wall: their outsized contribution of greenhouse gasses coupled with pollution dumped into the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oceans" rel="noopener noreferrer">oceans</a> was going to mean increased regulation. By self-imposing the levy and looking for zero-carbon solutions, ship owners avoided far stricter and more expensive regulations, according to Simon Bennett, the ICS's deputy secretary general, who spoke to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/zero-carbon-ships-on-horizon-under-fuel-levy-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. </p>
<p> "Greta Thunberg is right to say that 'creative accounting and clever PR' often lie behind supposed commitments to sustainability, but our plans are transparent, and our regulator has teeth," said Platten, as the trade publication <a href="https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/regulation/shipping-industry-proposes-mandatory-5bn-rd-fund-decarbonisation" target="_blank">Seatrade Maritime News</a> reported. "Now we ask the wider shipping community for their blessing. Change on this scale is difficult and often daunting. But in this case, it could not be more necessary."</p>
<p>The proposal won praise from others in the shipping industry.</p>
<p>"This new multi-billion-dollar fund is a game-changing development," said Bob Sanguinetti, UK Chamber of Shipping Chief Executive, to <a href="https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/regulation/shipping-industry-proposes-mandatory-5bn-rd-fund-decarbonisation" target="_blank">Seatrade Maritime News</a>. "It shows just how serious the industry is about reducing its emissions and tackling climate change. It is a huge step in the right direction to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050."</p>
<p>Environmental activists had another take, suggesting that the plan is too little, too late, arguing that it is ridiculous that ships pay no fuel tax. A tax commensurate with what trucks are charged in Europe would generate 70 times more revenue just in Europe, according to the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50827604" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p>
<p>"That amount is simply ridiculous to spur innovation in the sector nor to be a driver to spur efficiency, said Nico Muzi, the director of communications and campaigns at Transport & Environment, to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/zero-carbon-ships-on-horizon-under-fuel-levy-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. "If it is $2 per tonne of fuel, it is 42 times less than current CO2 prices in Europe. To rein in long-ignored maritime emissions and make shipping do its fair share, Europe must bring shipping into its carbon market and mandate CO2 standards for all ships calling at its ports."</p>
<p>Doug Parr, the chief scientist at Greenpeace UK, questioned the shipping industry's motives in the absence of specific goals to reduce emissions. </p>
<p>"The shipping industry has slipped under the radar of international climate action for way too long," he said to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/zero-carbon-ships-on-horizon-under-fuel-levy-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Guardian</a>. "Investing research to create zero-carbon ships is not a bad thing in itself, but it becomes suspiciously close to a delaying tactic if it is not accompanied by clear reduction targets. If the shipping industry wants people to believe this is a serious move, then they should change course and support legally binding targets to cut their planet-warming emissions."</p>
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Thousands of Ships Use 'Cheat Devices' to Dump Toxic Wastewater Into Sea and Bypass Emissions Standards
01 October 2019
Oceans
Stock photo of cruise ship at Hardangerfjord regeion of Norway. cookelma / iStock / Getty Images Plus
You might have known that cruise ships are some of the world's worst polluters. Now, there is more disturbing news from the shipping industry thanks to a bombshell investigation that found that global shipping companies have spent billions to equip their ships with "cheat devices" that get around new emissions standards by dumping pollution into the sea rather than the air. The British newspaper The Independent revealed the fraud in an exclusive story.
According to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">The Independent</a> shipping companies have invested more than $12 billion on a contraption called an open-loop scrubber, which removes noxious sulfur fumes from the exhaust fumes of ships that run on heavy oil. Since the sulfur is not emitted into the air, the ships are in compliance with the <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/Pages/Default.aspx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">International Maritime Organization</a>'s new emissions standards that are set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
<p>The cheat happens when the sulfur is rerouted from the exhaust pipes and dumped into the sea around the ship, which increases the volume of pollutants dropped into the oceans and carbon dioxide emissions. </p><p>"Imagine how far $12bn could have gone if it was applied towards developing and deploying technologies for zero-emission vessels," said Bryan Comer, a senior researcher at the <a href="https://theicct.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">International Council on Clean Transportation</a> (ICCT), a non-profit that gives scientific analysis to environmental regulators, to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">The Independent</a>.</p><p>Ships that have installed the open-loop scrubbers include bulk carriers, container ships and oil tankers, which have the biggest engines and are some of the ocean's worst polluters, according to <a href="https://www.ship-technology.com/news/thousands-of-ships-use-cheat-devices-to-cheat-emissions-regulations-find-the-independent/" target="_blank">Ship Technology</a>, a shipping industry trade-publication.</p><p>So far, 3,756 have had scrubbers installed, but only 23 of them, or 0.6 percent, have a closed-loop scrubber, which captures sulfur and stores it in tanks until it can be transferred to a safe disposal facility in port, according to DNV GL, the world's largest ship classification company, as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">The Independent</a> reported.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.egcsa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems Association</a> estimated that 4,000 ships will be operating with scrubbers by January. </p><p>The byproduct from burning fuel is brutal. When a ship has an open-loop scrubber, it dumps nearly 45 tons of polluted washwater in to the sea for every ton of fuel it burns. The ICCT said the washwater that drops into the ocean is warm, acidic and contaminated with carcinogens and heavy metals, as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">The Independent</a> reported. Heavy metal pollution has been linked to damage to the central nervous system in humans and animals. Some of the other chemicals in the contaminants have been connected to skin, lung, bladder, liver and stomach cancers.</p>
<p>The ICCT has estimated that cruise ships alone that are fitted with scrubbers will burn around 4 million tons of heavy fuel oil in 2020 and they will dump 180 million tons of contaminated water overboard.</p>
<p>"About half of the world's roughly 500 cruise ships have or will soon have scrubbers installed," said Comer to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">The Independent</a>. "Cruise ships operate in some of the most beautiful and pristine areas on the planet, making this all the more concerning." </p>
<p>Increasing acidification is already devastating the world's coral reefs since it makes it harder for corals to build their skeletons, according to the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/scientists-identify-how-ocean-acidification-weakens-coral-skeletons/" target="_blank">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a>.</p>
<p>Comer just touched on cruise ships and also noted that scrubbers force ships to burn about two percent more fuel, increasing their CO2 emissions. </p>
<p>The cumulative total from shipping as well will dramatically increase water pollution and will have a devastating impact on marine wildlife and water quality around ports. </p>
<p>"In the North Sea and some parts of the [English] Channel, the water quality has already been heavily degraded," said Lucy Gilliam, a campaigner for Transport and Environment, a Brussels-based NGO, to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">The Independent</a>. "Wildlife in these areas is likely to be far more vulnerable to the effects of having ships discharging huge volumes of acidic, polluted, warm water from scrubbers."</p>
<p>In response to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/shipping-pollution-sea-open-loop-scrubber-carbon-dioxide-environment-a9123181.html?utm_source=reddit.com" target="_blank">The Independent</a>, the IMO said it had already "adopted strict criteria for discharge of washwater from exhaust gas cleaning systems." It added that it is "undertaking a review of the 2015 guidelines on exhaust gas cleaning systems. The guidelines include, among other things, washwater discharge standards."</p>
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Pexels
By Marlene Cimons
Nearly a century ago, German engineer Anton Flettner launched a ship into the ocean. "Without sails or steam, like a ghost ship, it moved mysteriously through the water with no apparent means of propulsion," according to a 1925 article that appeared in Popular Science Monthly. The ship cruised in silence, without spewing anything into the air. Curiously, two odd-looking, giant spinning cylinders rose from her deck as "the ship plowed its way through the rough waters of the Baltic, at nearly twice its former speed," the article said.
<p>Flettner used those cylinders — called rotor sails — to power his ship, harnessing the same source that first drove vessels through the sea hundreds of years earlier when they began sailing: the wind. At the time, his invention couldn't compete with steam, coal and, ultimately, the modern diesel engine. But today, as the world copes with climate change, the shipping industry — indeed, the entire world transportation sector — must find ways to wean itself from fossil fuels and transition to cleaner energy. Among these efforts, Flettner's old idea has gained new traction.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDA4MTc3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzM0MTc5OH0.0N_PYr5SbArQbfi-FD0OTc17V-xljhEFb6ok8D_yfCk/img.jpg?width=980" id="48bfb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="cc917834be1c6701c3cb2d73dcf0a414" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Flettner's rotor ship, the Buckau, in 1924.
<p>"Who would have thought that centuries later we would be taking a hard look at how to harness the power of the wind to power ships?" said Bryan Comer, a senior researcher in the marine program of the <a href="https://www.theicct.org/?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">International Council on Clean Transportation</a>. "In the beginning, all ships were zero emission, using human power — oars — or wind. Now, in an effort to reduce costs and environmental impacts, we're starting to see innovative uses of wind power, including rotor sails. It seems we have come full circle."</p><p>The global transportation sector accounts for nearly a quarter of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases discharged into the atmosphere. Still, energy moves our cars, trucks, buses, trains, ships and airplanes, everything we depend upon to deliver food and consumer goods, to commute to work, to go shopping, to get the kids to school and soccer practice, and to fly the job-weary to a long awaited vacation. People aren't going to abandon their vehicles anytime soon, and if people can't change, then the vehicles must.</p><p>Experts agree that the transportation sector must undergo fundamental changes, starting now, if we are to keep warming to 1.5 degrees C, the target set by the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/d2hhdC1pcy?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">Paris Climate Agreement</a>. "We need to start the technological shift in transport immediately and at a very high pace in order not to fall short of the ambitious Paris climate goals," said Johannes Pagenkopf, a scientist and vehicles systems specialist with the <a href="https://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10002/?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">German Aerospace Center</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDA4MTc4My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTAyMzk2NX0.YT4dIhjIE55pDz5w3kCgk8EXh5Qypka2t1w1GIwjm3A/img.jpg?width=980" id="80aef" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="68ece4c8013a67478eb41e21662fd57f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Traffic jam in New Delhi.
<p>Transport today still depends heavily on fossil fuels, with only a small share based on electricity. "We need to profoundly shift our current transport systems towards a carbon-neutral future," said Pagenkopf.</p><p>Ships account for around <a href="https://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Global-shipping-GHG-emissions-2013-2015_ICCT-Report_17102017_vF.pdf?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">3 percent</a> of CO2 emissions globally, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. Experts in the shipping industry think that wind-assisted technologies— rotor sails among them — will help vessels reach emission reduction goals set by the International Maritime Organization. The group has called for lowering carbon emissions by 70 percent by 2050 compared to 2008 levels.</p><p>Ships armed with rotor sails wouldn't be fossil fuel-free, but the technology could help curb fuel use and pollution. In addition to rotor sails, ships could also deploy <a href="https://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Rotors_and_bubbles_2019_05_12.pdf?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">innovations</a> such as a blower to pump air bubbles under the ship and across part of the hull, reducing drag and thus the amount of power needed by the main engines.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDA4MTc5MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NTQ0MDg0OX0.wPBijZjPBAlHu4UEoU8tSkmRPKdQpY47e1oOMS6-lo0/img.png?width=980" id="b9498" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="77fc3476244351d94b26650fa9dfee2d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The amount of energy used per person per mile by different forms of transport, as measured in metric tons of oil.
<p>Beyond shipping, Pagenkopf believes that other transportation modes must be powered by electricity. To that end, he believes people should rely more on trains instead cars and airplanes, since most railways already use electricity. Someday, he hopes the same will be true of planes and ships. "Battery and fuel cell electric propulsion for short- and medium-range planes and ships will get momentum" he said.</p><p>Some short-range airplanes already use battery-derived power for short distance flights that carry only a few passengers. And, "the industry has actually taken to the idea of electric aircraft in many meaningful ways," said Phil Ansell, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the <a href="https://illinois.edu/?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</a>. "Lots of different industry groups are currently conducting internal research into electric aircraft concepts."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDA4MTc5NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMzg1MDU4M30.kZs0RtnmLQn6E_9map82RP1lQgnw9FzY19wHxOIvC4k/img.jpg?width=980" id="8e597" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a252c523ab22b8f07b350fe21c251a8e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
An airplane flying above Chicago.
Pexels
<p>There are major obstacles to overcome, however, before batteries will routinely power planes, especially on longer flights. Current batteries are too heavy to carry planes very far; research must focus on making them lighter. Because of these drawbacks, scientists are looking at other options, including <a href="https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/1.C035070?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">hybrid systems</a> that pair batteries with fuel.</p><p>Xianguo Li, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering at the <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">University of Waterloo</a>, is working on something similar, pairing batteries with fuel cells for use in automobiles. He believes his system will last as much as ten times longer than current fuel cells and can be produced cheaply enough to eventually replace conventional gas engines. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030626191930337X?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">The system</a> consists of a battery and three fuel cell units of identical size that shift among themselves, depending on the amount of power needed.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMDA4MTc5Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzM3ODIxNX0.UN7VE7lvP6fonG9WfvB0mo4wh9KPKwH3bVUdh0vw81Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="b4b49" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6d92865c9f4d1d0e44d13766467d6d56" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/cool-ideas-to-clean-up-the-pollution-from-cars-trucks-ships-and-planes-62b316a24c7d" target="_blank">Nexus Media</a>.<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/core/dashboard/editor/2639338414?#/" target="_self"></a></em><em></em></p>Professor Xianguo Li seen here with his fuel cell test vehicle in his lab.
University of Waterloo
<p>"During low speed driving, the battery provides the power," Li said. "One of the three fuel cell units would be activated if the battery energy level is low or battery power is not sufficient, and the fuel cell output would be used partly for driving and partly for charging the battery. If the vehicle speeds, two of the three fuel cells would be activated, and at full load all three fuel cells would be activated." But the fuel cells likely would last longer because a vehicle needs full power only around one-third of the time, he said.</p><p>Similarly, Li's Waterloo colleague, <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/mechatronic-vehicle-systems-lab/?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">Amir Khajepour</a>, has developed a new <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957415818300230?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">valve technology</a> that increases the efficiency of conventional internal combustion engines by more than 10 percent. He also has created a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544217305832?source=post_page---------------------------" target="_blank">battery system</a> that harnesses and stores heat that a vehicle creates when it brakes, but still allows refrigeration units and air conditioners to run during idling.</p><p>"Combustion engines will be the horse force of heavy transportations for many years to come," he said. "In addition, the current vehicles especially used in city buses or utility fleets have at least another decade of life span. Any technology that can reduce the fuel consumption and emissions of such vehicles will have a huge impact in making the transportation system greener."</p>
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By Verner Wilson II
2018 was a breakthrough year for Arctic conservation work at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). I wrote partly about it in my previous blog. Aside from obtaining internationally recognized routing measures and shipping areas to be avoided (ATBA) in the Bering Sea, IMO also moved forward with regulations to ban the use of Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) in the Arctic.
The United Nations shipping agency also moved to regulate climate-change causing greenhouse gas emissions in the international shipping industry, which is one of the largest emitters of carbon and other atmosphere pollutants. I look forward to continuing that type of work into 2019. And there will be plenty of opportunity for that, as there are a number of IMO subcommittee meetings that will consider pollution reduction and prevention measures. The people who I believe made some of the most significant differences in this work in 2018 were able to come to IMO with me last fall.
<p>It's not every day that elder <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/alaska">Alaska</a> Natives are heard and respected by leaders from around the world. Historically Alaska Natives were discriminated against. But not last October, when my respected Alaska Native elders George Edwardson from Utqiagvik and Delbert Pungowiyi from Savoonga traveled to London, England to tell the world about their decades of life in the Arctic.</p><p>Eager ears from every corner of the earth listened to their words of wisdom that week, when they attended the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting as part of the delegation of my organization, <a href="https://foe.org">Friends of the Earth</a>. Representing the Native Village of Savoonga and Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope (or ICAS, a consortium of eight Native villages on Alaska's Arctic Slope), they told the international delegates from over 173 nations about why it is important to protect the fragile Arctic environment. They told them their stories of growing up hunting and fishing on the Arctic ice. They spoke of their people who have depended on the bountiful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine wildlife</a> that has sustained them for thousands of years. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/whales">Whales</a>, walrus, polar bears, seals and other Arctic wildlife can't speak to international leaders, but my two respected elders who have been sustained by these creatures could—and they sure did! They spoke for the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a> and fragile environment our indigenous people depend on amidst increased shipping in the region.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="7b646" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GT1MK71576693494"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1053677471965634564" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Heavy fuel oil — the dirtiest fuel that can possibly be burned for shipping — is very persistent in the Arctic, ha… https://t.co/IZlQverQEb</div> — Friends of the Earth (@Friends of the Earth)<a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/statuses/1053677471965634564">1540051260.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Every time they eloquently spoke during that busy week, I heard not just them—but also myself. I heard my ancestors, and future generations of Alaska Native <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> leaders. I believe that our Native values and desire to protect our home allow us to speak collectively as one. Thus, our Arctic Indigenous voices rise as one. I heard our collective voices as my elders Delbert and George spoke at the many events we participated in that week. I was surprised that even for their older ages (Delbert is in his late 50s and George is in his 70s), they had such dedication to tell their story. And the stamina to carry them through from dusk until dawn each day after traveling more than 24 hours to get there. And it was an assiduous week for us. Together, we spoke to dozens of international leaders at two events: at the IMO plenary itself, and at an evening reception at United Kingdom's Parliament building. We woke up at 5 a.m. one day to take a two-hour train ride to Southampton, UK where we spoke to Carnival Cruise Line's top executives at their UK headquarters as we urged them to take responsibility in the Arctic by not using HFO. We also spoke to more than a hundred students at Imperial College during an evening event, and reporters throughout the week. My elders George and Delbert were eager and ecstatic to talk to everyone they could to help protect the people and places where they are from.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTE4NDM4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDUxNjkyMn0.NNPtLnkJoxhOh02brNolWo2IFsSPvn5V3IapjFCotjY/img.jpg?width=980" id="d5656" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="af60e0e7e22c50025ef580d2d63cb4ca" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
</p><p>If there is one thing I learned from that week, it was that I could count on my elders and people to continue their strong and passionate advocacy for our home. In 2018, Arctic indigenous voices stood up and began engaging in IMO deliberations. The <a href="https://www.arctictoday.com/call-phase-hfo-arctic-tops-list-afn-recommendations/" target="_blank">Alaska Federation of Natives</a>, <a href="https://fathom.world/press-release-inuit-circumpolar-council-calls-for-phase-out-of-heavy-fuel-oil-from-arctic/" target="_blank">Inuit Circumpolar Council</a>, <a href="https://www.tunngavik.com/files/2018/10/RSA-18-10-14-Heavy-Fuel-Oil-eng.pdf" target="_blank">Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated</a> (or NTI, a Native organization in Nunavut, Canada) and the <a href="http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2018/09/18/greenland-joins-push-to-ban-heavy-fuel-oil-in-the-arctic/" target="_blank">government of Greenland</a> all passed statements urging IMO to ban the use of HFO. In 2019 other issues will be discussed, including the regulation of other pollutants like greywater, initiatives for ships to avoid marine mammals, and more. As we move into 2019, I look forward to continuing this work at the IMO's Pollution, Prevention and Response (PPR) subcommittee meeting in February 2019, as well as the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in May. Despite the long trip to London and busy weeklong meetings, I know it will be worth it. My elders George and Delbert reminded me of why our work is worth it.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="bb2ea" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BXDSKU1576693494"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="985954432423571456" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Landmark Agreement: Shipping Industry to Cut Emissions https://t.co/KyX9EuwB4I @NRDC @UCSUSA @SierraClub @greenpeaceusa</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/985954432423571456">1523904829.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><em>Verner Wilson II is a senior oceans campaigner with <a href="https://foe.org" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth</a>.</em><br></p>
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By James J. Winebrake and James J Corbett
The International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency that regulates global shipping, is writing new rules to curb greenhouse gas emissions from ships by 2050 as it implements other regulations that will mandate cleaner-burning fuels at sea by 2020.
<p style="">
<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=74F-n3sAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">As researchers</a> who <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nFDXRBkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao" target="_blank">study the shipping industry</a>, we have determined that the benefits of greener shipping outweigh the costs. Yet <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24590915?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents" target="_blank">global environmental rule-making, implementation and enforcement</a> take a long time, creating delays that can endanger public health and the environment.
</p><p style="">
<strong>Heavy Fuel Oil</strong>
</p><p style="">
The more than <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/264024/number-of-merchant-ships-worldwide-by-type/" target="_blank">52,000 ships</a> crisscrossing ocean trade routes will burn more than <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/PollutionPrevention/AirPollution/Documents/Third%20Greenhouse%20Gas%20Study/GHG3%20Executive%20Summary%20and%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">2 billion barrels of heavy fuel oil</a> this year. Heavy fuel oil, a crude oil byproduct, contains sulfur concentrations up to 1,800 times higher than the diesel fuel burned on <a href="https://www.epa.gov/diesel-fuel-standards/diesel-fuel-standards-and-rulemakings" target="_blank">U.S. highways</a>.
</p><p>
Ships <a href="http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Environment/PollutionPrevention/AirPollution/Documents/Third%20Greenhouse%20Gas%20Study/GHG3%20Executive%20Summary%20and%20Report.pdf" target="_blank">contribute between 2 and 3 percent</a> of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions, studies show. Unless the world takes action to control noxious air pollutants and reduce greenhouse gases, harmful pollution will grow in tandem with <a href="http://www.futurenautics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/GlobalMarineTrends2030Report.pdf" target="_blank">global trade</a> in the coming decades.
</p><p>
Atmospheric processes transform ship exhaust into toxic particles, which drift far from shipping routes. Originating along shipping routes, these pollutants endanger human health and acidify lakes and streams hundreds of miles inland.
</p><p style="">
<strong>Public Health Hazard</strong>
</p><p style="">
As part of an international team of scholars, we researched how sulfur-related pollution from ships affects human health. Our team found that ship pollution causes about <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02774-9" target="_blank">400,000 premature deaths</a> from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease, and 14 million cases of childhood asthma each year.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzU0NDk4Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTUyOTQxN30.KhH7rCr41a8EnLb1KRexgqepD024DEzGqD6OSed0aok/img.png?width=980" id="887ba" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="549b1c9775ce48bbe1ab9ed15f915123" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Projected premature mortality from lung cancer and cardiovascular disease due to sulfur pollution from ships in 2020 unless emissions are cut. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="http://doi.org//10.1038/s41467-017-02774-9" target="_blank">Study by James Winebrake, James Corbett and other researchers, CC BY-SA</a></small>
</p><p style="">
Maritime regulation requires cooperation among many, if not most, of the world's nations, using their shared authority to verify compliance upon arrival in their ports. But at sea, most shipping companies operate relatively independently of the country where they are headquartered.<br>
</p><p style="">
The International Maritime Organization sets international shipping policies through consensus agreements that specify compliance requirements and leave enforcement up to national authorities. In 2008, governments and industries agreed to adopt cleaner fuels in 2020. Since then, we estimate that ship air pollution exposure contributed to more than 1.5 million premature deaths and aggravated asthma conditions for more than 100 million children.
</p><p style="">
Given the climate benefits of low-carbon shipping, we believe that the world can't wait three decades to set and enforce shipping greenhouse gas targets.
</p><p style="">
<em>Reposted with permission from our media associate </em><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-urgency-of-curbing-pollution-from-ships-explained-94797" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></em><em>.</em>
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