cargo

Reducing emissions from ocean shipping

August 13, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Ocean shipping is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, accounting for about 3% of the total. It is a key part of international trade, moving goods like electronics, automobiles, and oil. It relies on fossil fuels, and, without significant changes, shipping’s emissions could more than double by 2050. Ocean shipping is one of the world’s most difficult to decarbonize industrial sectors.

Scientists at the University of Southern California and Caltech, collaborating with a startup company called Calcarea, have developed a shipboard system that could remove up to half of the carbon dioxide emitted by shipping vessels. The system is fairly simple and scalable.

The process mimics a natural chemical reaction that takes place in the ocean. As a cargo ship moves through seawater, the CO2 from the ship’s exhaust is absorbed into water that is pumped onboard. This makes the water more acidic. The treated water is then passed through a bed of limestone, where it reacts with the rock to form bicarbonate, which is a stable compound that already exists naturally in seawater. The treated seawater, now stripped of the carbon dioxide, is dumped back into the ocean.

Sophisticated ocean modeling examined what would happen when the bicarbonate-rich water is released back into the sea over a hypothetical 10-year period. The model showed a negligible impact on ocean pH and chemistry.

The researchers estimate that widespread adoption of the technique could reduce shipping-related carbon dioxide emissions by 50%. The startup company Calcarea is working to bring the technology to market and is in early discussions with commercial shippers.

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USC technology may reduce shipping emissions by half

Photo, posted November 14, 2017, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Hydrogen-powered aviation

December 16, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The transportation sector is responsible for about a quarter of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the energy used by transport systems comes from fossil fuels. The transition to electric vehicles – cars, trucks, and buses – is making a real difference. However, the emissions from the aviation industry have continued to grow faster than those of other forms of transportation. There have been increased efforts to develop hydrogen-powered aircraft, but the challenges are substantial.

Hydrogen can be used for aviation both as a directly combusted fuel, or to power electric fuel cells. Its advantages are that its use produces no carbon dioxide, and, in fact, hydrogen produces more energy per pound than jet fuel.

A study by researchers at MIT looked at the prospects for hydrogen use in aircraft and what needs to be done to make it practical. The biggest issue is that the extra bulk of a hydrogen fuel tank and fuel cells in a plane would have to be offset by weight reductions elsewhere, such as reducing payload (cargo or passengers). This would mean there would need to be more flights, thereby reducing the gains made. The researchers argued that improvements in fuel cell power and more weight efficient fuel systems could eliminate the need for additional flights.

The bigger challenge is the infrastructure for generating and distributing hydrogen. There needs to be green hydrogen – hydrogen produced without carbon emissions – and the infrastructure for getting it to planes where it is needed has to also not produce substantial emissions.

The study suggests that the rollout of hydrogen-based aviation should start at locations that have favorable conditions for hydrogen production.

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Fueling greener aviation with hydrogen

Photo, posted December 20, 2016, courtesy of Dylan Agbagni via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

An Electric Cruise Ship | Earth Wise

July 31, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The shipping industry accounts for about 3% of global manmade greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, the International Maritime Organization, the UN body that regulates global shipping, set a target to cut the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2050.

This goal has led to a variety of designs for eco-friendly ships, including car carriers, superyachts, and cargo ships with retractable sails. But most of the designs still rely to at least some extent on engines that run on fossil fuels.

The Norwegian cruise ship company Hurtigruten has announced that it will build a zero-emissions electric cruise ship with retractable sails covered in solar panels. The ship is expected to set sail in 2030. Hurtigruten is a relatively small company, with a fleet of eight ships, each with a capacity of 500 passengers. But the company hopes that its innovative plan will inspire the entire maritime industry.

The ship will predominantly run off of electric motors powered by 60 megawatt batteries that can be charged in port with renewable energy. To reduce reliance on the battery, when it is windy, three retractable sails will rise out of the deck, reaching a maximum height of 164 feet. The sails will be covered in solar panels that will generate energy to top off the batteries while sailing.

The ship will have 270 cabins to hold 500 passengers and 99 crew members. The streamlined shape of the ship will result in less air resistance to further reduce energy use.

Hurtigruten already has a hybrid, battery-supported cruise ship and is currently in the process of converting its entire fleet to hybrid battery power.

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An electric cruise ship with gigantic solar sails is set to launch in 2030

Photo, posted January 15, 2023, courtesy of Bernard Spragg via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Reduced Air Travel And Weather Forecasts | Earth Wise

December 16, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

There have been countless stories about the major and minor changes in the world caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A few of those changes, such as reductions in pollution and traffic, have been positive. Most have been decidedly negative.

One of the stranger things that has happened is that the pandemic has affected the quality of weather forecasting by sharply reducing the amount of atmospheric data routinely collected by commercial airliners.

It turns out that atmospheric observations from passenger and cargo flights are among the most important data used in weather forecasting models. These observations are made by instruments aboard thousands of airliners, mostly based in North America and Europe. The observation program has been in place for decades. The data is transmitted in real time to forecasting organizations around the world, including the National Weather Service. About 40 airlines participate in the program, which has equipment aboard about 3,500 aircraft. Here in the US, Delta, United, American, and Southwest Airlines participate, as do UPS and FedEx.

During the first few months of the pandemic, air traffic declined by 75% or more worldwide. As a result, atmospheric observations dropped by the same percentage. A government research study showed that when weather forecasting models receive less data on temperature, wind, and humidity from aircraft, the accuracy of forecasts was reduced.

The amount of data from aircraft has increased in recent months as air travel has picked up to roughly 50% of pre-pandemic levels. So, the observation program is on the mend. Nonetheless, impaired weather forecasting is just another unexpected result of the global pandemic.

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Slump in Air Travel Hindered Weather Forecasting, Study Shows

Photo, posted July 15, 2017, courtesy of Daria Nepriakhina via Flickr. Photo by Photo by Daria / epicantus.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Saving Costs And Reducing Emissions From Shipping | Earth Wise

March 2, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

International shipping is a large and growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Maritime transport produces about a billion tons of CO2 annually, accounting for about 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The environmental impact of shipping includes air pollution, water pollution, and even acoustic pollution. In many coastal areas, ships are responsible for more than 18% of some air pollutants. Overall, there are more than 100,000 transport ships at sea, of which about 6,000 are large container ships.

In recent years, the shipping sector has had both internal willingness and external pressure to reduce emissions, but shipping is a tough, competitive business and it isn’t easy to stay competitive and help protect the environment.

A recent study at Abo Akademi University in Finland has found that improved ship utilization rates and investments in environmentally sustainable technologies for enhanced energy efficiency would significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Of equal importance, those same measures would contribute to lowering of freight costs.

If the same cargo volume can be shipped using less fuel, shipping companies will gain major savings in terms of fuel costs. Digitalization can provide valuable benefits. For example, new digital planning and booking systems would enable smarter use of routes while also diminishing traffic with half-empty vessels or even ones with no cargo aboard. Reducing such underutilization would improve the capacity utilization rate and eliminate emissions caused by so-called ballast traffic.

Global shipping continues to grow. It is essential that it becomes smarter and more efficient to protect the environment and improve its economics.

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Environmentally friendly shipping helps to reduce freight costs

Photo, posted February 18, 2016, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

China And Plastic Waste

April 26, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In January 2018, China enacted its “National Sword” policy which banned the import of most plastics and other materials headed for that country’s recycling processors. Those processors had handled nearly half of the world’s recyclable waste for the past quarter century. China took this step because the deluge of soiled and contaminated materials was overwhelming its processing facilities and creating yet another environmental problem for the country, this time not even of its own making.

Prior to China’s ban, 95% of the plastics collected for recycling in the European Union and 70% in the U.S. were sold and shipped to Chinese processors. A combination of favorable rates for shipping in cargo vessels that carried Chinese goods abroad and low Chinese labor rates made it a very profitable enterprise.

Before China’s ban, only 9% of globally discarded plastics were being recycled and 12% were burned. The rest ended up in landfills or simply dumped into the environment. Over the coming decade, as many as 11 million tons of plastic will have to find a new place to be processed or otherwise disposed of. There is already evidence that plastic waste is accumulating in countries that are dependent on exporting. In many places, including a number of American cities, there are curtailed collections and new restrictions on what kinds of plastics are accepted.

Some experts are hopeful that China’s ban might actually have an upside if it leads to better solutions for managing the world’s waste. North America and Europe need to expand processing capabilities and manufacturers need to make their products more easily recyclable. Mostly, the Chinese ban should be a wake-up call to the world on the need to greatly reduce single-use plastics.

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Piling Up: How China’s Ban on Importing Waste Has Stalled Global Recycling

Photo, posted August 8, 2017, courtesy of Sino-German Urbanisation Partnership via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Cleaning Up Shipping Fuel

August 21, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Cargo ships are significant sources of global air pollution because of their fuel oil. Most ships burn something called “bunker fuel” which is a pitch-black, molasses-thick fuel made from the dregs of the oil refining process. It is loaded with sulfur, so when it is burned it produces noxious gases and fine particles that can harm human health and the environment. Because bunker fuel is made from petroleum refining residues, waste byproducts sometimes end up in the mix, making the stuff even a worse source of pollution.

An Electric, Autonomous Container Ship

September 18, 2017 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Electric cars are big news these days and so are self-driving cars. But now there is about to be an electric, self-navigating cargo ship. The soon-to-be-finished ship is called the Yara Birkeland, and is being built under a partnership between two Norwegian companies.