Writer, Russell Long, wrote an opinion piece published in The New York Times called, Where There's Smoke, There's Pollution, addressing the effects of vessels on the environment. He is arguing against the way The Environmental Protection Agency and other environmental health organizations are handling the increase of shipping pollution and the public’s health and safety. People assume the main cause of air pollution are automobiles or manufactures, however, international trade by cargo ships has expanded more than fifty percent within the past three decades. It has become one of the leading sources of air pollution in the nation. The effects are aggressive and could cause severe harm to the lives of millions, specifically those who live in …show more content…
EPA attempted to create a treaty that would better the condition of the environment, “But after members of the powerful International Association of Independent Tanker Owners met with officials in Washington, the E.P.A. regulation was watered down” (The New York Times). They may as well have turned the proposal down. The current regulation for the low-grade-fuel ships will continue to negatively impact the neighboring air, land, and aquatic communities around the ports.
The article starts with the public's perception on the issue of pollution. It is explaining the things that contribute to air pollution that people overlook, for example, the fact that cargo ships and vessels are not acknowledged like automobiles and industrial plants. A journal of occupational medicine and toxicology from Biomed Central, Ships, ports and particulate air pollution-an analysis of recent studies, written by Daniel Mueller, Stefanie Uibel, and many more authors, supports Long’s claim about the ships harmful effects that many people are unaware of. Because marine vessels’ longevity beats automobiles and road vehicles, there are many ships that still run on the old engines. He was also accurate in stating the low-grade-quality fuel that ships use.
The article is effective in that it informs the readers and audience the underlying importance of air quality issues in harbour cities and coastal areas caused by the marine vessels. They release emissions that
The Coast Guard regulations outline equipment and procedures to reduce unnecessary bulk cargo from spilling (USCG). Though these regulations aim at preventing avoidable cargo spills; accidents out of a crew's control can happen. Sometimes a ship in rough water loses part of its cargo as a wave sweeps across an open cargo hold. Others times a ship offloading misses the dock machinery collecting the cargo and some of the cargo spills into the water. Vis versa a ship loading floats away from the dock (because a mooring line breaks) or rocks do to wave action, causing a fuel line to snap. On the other hand a majority of cargo and fuel dumping occurs on purpose. Ships on the Great Lakes cannot allow their dry cargos to mix so the Coast Guard created a policy where a ship's deck must be ‘broom clean’, meaning any cargo remaining on deck after an on/offload considered safe gets washed off the deck (USCG). The Coast Guard believes the practice meets all environmental standards and their intentions mean well, but to no avail. The let down on this practice lies with the shipping companies who take advantage of the Coast Guard. The companies dump toxic materials into the lakes including miscellaneous garbage thrown overboard by crew members and release dirty oil with little thought of consequence (USCG). The Coast Guard does not have the technology available to enforce the
Undoubtedly, the most egregious offender to the overall environmental health and stability of Benicia's waterways is the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, otherwise known as the “mothballed” fleet. This collection of decrepit, rusting vessels has been plaguing the beautiful waters of our Bay Area delta for more than sixty years. Ever since these ships were decommissioned at the end of World War II, they been left stagnant in our backyard, resulting in numerous environmental concerns. For example, various heavy metals such as lead and anti-fouling agents pollute our waters when paint peels off the ships' hulls, thus exposing the natural wildlife to dangerous compounds. Additionally, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and other hazardous substances have been released, which can cause rashes if eaten by humans and liver damage or even death if consumed by animals. Thankfully, recent efforts have been made to better maintain the fleet and protect our native species, and the entire reserve is scheduled to be sold or scrapped by February 2017.
The foreword of this book is written by James Corbett, professor of marine science and policy and he writes " This text is designed to assist today’ s mariners, environmental scientists, and regulatory administrators. " And he concludes with "This text contributes to a better understanding of shipping and environment, and expands the horizons for twenty-fi rst-century shipping.".
The attempt to abolish the use of renewable energy such as wind and solar and instead save the sun by letting nature take its course faces many hurdles as each Nation sets is limits on how much one company can emit toxic wastes into the environment and as such their intention is not to allow these companies to carry out their operations without due respect for the environment. However these companies have derived ways of avoiding detection and are finding ways of dumping toxic wastes into the environment without being accounted for. Klein gives an example of a ship that is as high as the sea the clouds which emits toxic carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, this carbon dioxide which varies from country to country can be emitted to a country that has a low legal percentage of emission which can not be controlled by the ship or it can’t be regulated, (Everett
The oil spills results of shipping accidents play a significant role in increasing the pollution. For example, in the 3rd of April 2010 4 tonnes of oil was spilled into the water.
The effect on the environment, not just shipping volume, should always be considered when, when determining the effectiveness of a port. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach as a complex are ranked the 10th biggest port in the world by volume, and are the 9th busiest port in the world. This high level of traffic leads to a large amount of emissions from boats, trucks, and trains. The high emissions had a major impact on the local air quality. In 2006, the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan was passed to combat the poor air quality. Notably, this strategy being produced for a global seaport was the most comprehensive reducing health risk and cutting air pollution to a minimum. Within five years of passing the Action Plan,
The author begins the article by discussing the death percentage related to air pollution and what causes the elevated levels of air pollution. Huth continues the article by pointing out that different areas have different problems related to air pollution. Finally, Huth draws attention to the fact that different countries have different solutions to the air pollution. Though this piece was written for the entire United States, the fact that air pollution can be deadly to humans is universally applicable. Though Huth is a reporter and not an environmental scientist, Huth does cite reports made by credible institutions. Though this article talks only about how air pollution is deadly and does not expand the idea to talk about other health complications, the fact that air pollution is dangerous to human health does support my claim that a reduction in air pollution will lead to a better quality of
In the article “Oceans of Pollution,” published by Al Jazeera, Dahr Jamail discussed the impacts of pollution on the world’s oceans. He talked about the amount of plastic wastes produced by human and the increasing area of “dead zones.” He showed how seriously plastic debris and chemical fertilisers have affected the environment and how harmful they are to ecosystem. Jamail tried to warn general publics on the damages they have caused on the environment and hoped to gather people’s attention on pollution by writing this article. Jamail made a strong communication with the audience by using three rhetorical strategies, logos, pathos, and ethos, and his article clearly fulfilled his purpose.
When we think about greenhouse gas emissions in transportation, cars and trucks immediately spring to mind. Because they mostly remain out of sight, ships and the pollution they emit tend to stay out of mind. Yet the increase in international trade routes as a consequence of globalization has caused a steep rise in pollution emanating from large container ships. This is taking on increasing importance because while the last twenty years have seen governing bodies all over the world regulate emissions from cars while shipping emissions have been completely ignored. As a result, low-grade ship bunker fuel has up to 2,000 times as much sulfur as the diesel fuel used for automobiles. This, coupled with fluctuating oil prices, has recently brought
ENVIRONMENTAL – Increased awareness on issues of global warming and energy consumption has re-directed world’s attention. As a result many shipping companies are trying to be more environmental friendly. Policies have been passed by Organisations i.e. Ballast water and low Sulfur fuel.
Although the industry is beneficial from a life-cycle assessment point of view, over the years it has gravitated toward countries with low labor costs, weak regulations on occupational safety, and limited environmental enforcement. The “global shift” in the industry to countries with comparatively weaker regulatory systems is of particular concern as ships contain many hazards that can have significant detrimental effects on humans and the environment if not dealt with properly.
Air is an indispensable part of human, animal and plant lives. Without it, no organisms would be able to survive on Earth (Reference, 2017). Due to excessive human activities, air pollution has become a detrimental worldwide issue in current days (Sciencing, 2017). However, scientists have found new chemicals that can assist in improving the air quality (Phys.org, 2017). Moreover, humans are able to adopt many methods to help decrease the severity of contamination released into the earth’s atmosphere. This investigation is linked to ‘application and limitation’ in ‘science as a Human Endeavour’.
The amount of factories and industries has grown immensely through the previous years which has resulted in an expansion in the consumption of petroleum products. Innovation has begun to increase and has promoted the expansion of the production of cars. As stated by the Air Quality Research Center, “Air pollution is one of the most dangerous environmental problems, causing many adverse health effects and responsible for 50,000 deaths in the U.S. each year” (Air Pollution and Health – Air Quality Research Center.). The smog and
Air, is one of the most substantial source to mankind and our planet. While it exists, so does everything else along. However, in today’s epidemic, there has been certain factors that have increased in understanding whether the air we breathe today is healthy or not? Is it doing more harm than we thought? In other words, the health risks against air pollution have risen in the past few decades; all from what you may ask? Well, it could be for various factors and evaluations; either environmental or materialistic. Pollution is a major public health crisis in the world. (Friis, 2012). This is one of the conflicts that contribute to various aspects of an individual’s life, whether they may realize it or not. In this paper will include the sources that cause pollution with the effects it cause as well as policies on the regulation of air pollution.
Pollution is the introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment. It is a major problem in America and as well as the world. Pollution not only damages the environment, but damages us also. It has cause many problems ranging from lung cancer to the greenhouse effect. It is all among us but we continue to live in our own filth. What is the reason behind this flawed logic? In this paper I will examine the problems and solutions for this issue.