5595 x 3623 px | 47,4 x 30,7 cm | 18,7 x 12,1 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
gennaio 2007
Ubicazione:
Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk, UK
Altre informazioni:
Exhaust emissions from ships are considered to be a significant source of air pollution. Seagoing vessels are responsible for an estimated 14 percent of emissions of nitrogen from fossil fuels and 16 percent of the emissions of sulfur from petroleum uses into the atmosphere. In Europe ships make up a large percentage of the sulfur introduced to the air, as much sulfur as all the cars, lorries and factories in Europe put together. By 2010, up to 40% of air pollution over land could come from ships. Sulfur in the air creates acid rain which damages crops and buildings. When inhaled the sulfur is known to cause respiratory problems and even increase the risk of a heart attack. According to Irene Blooming, a spokeswoman for the European environmental coalition Seas at Risk, the fuel used in oil tankers and container ships is high in sulfur and cheaper to buy compared to the fuel used for domestic land use. A ship lets out around 50 times more sulfur than a lorry per metric tonne of cargo carried. Cities in the U.S. like Long Beach, Los Angeles, Houston, Galveston, and Pittsburgh see some of the heaviest shipping traffic in the nation and have left local officials desperately trying to clean up the air. Increasing trade between the U.S. and China is helping to increase the number of vessels navigating the Pacific and exacerbating many of the environmental problems. To maintain the level of growth China is currently experiencing, large amounts of grain are being shipped to China by the boat load. The number of voyages are expected to continue increasing
