Week 5 of the Challenge, Part 1

1.  Maritime effects on global warming.  This is the subject that I decided to search.  A little background.   A couple of years ago  I read a short blurb in a scientic magazine that stated that the third largest contributor to the greenhouse effect and global warming was the maritime (shipping) industry.  It was ranked third behind China and the United States.   I found this facinating because nothing is ever mentioned about it in the news.  It's always who is contibuting more country by country.  The shipping industry pollutes by changing to a very dirty fuel once it enters international waters and then back to a cleaner fuel when entering a country's territorial waters.  The fuel is so dirty it is more like tar than diesel.  Here is what I found.
The first article  was titled "Maritime shipping makes hefty contribution to harmful air pollution."  Globally, commercial ships emit almost half as much particlate matter pollutants into the air as the total amount released by the world's cars.  "Since 70% of shipping traffic takes place within 250 miles of the coastline, this is a significant health concern for coastal communities.
The second article I read was "The growing challenge of climate change for the maritime industry and the role of marke-based measure to reduce emissions.  this article made it appear that the industry was staring to address the issue and may do something about it.  The International Maritime Organization, international shipping movese 90 percent of the world trade and it is the most efficient mode  of mass transport and is only a relatively modest contributor to the total volume of atmospheric emissions.
The third article was titled "Bunker fuel ban gathers steam in Congress."  The bill was sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinsten of California.  It was intiated after a Cosco Busan container ship struck the San Francisco Bay bridge and spilled thousands of gallons of bunker fuel into the bay.  FINALLY I had a name for the stuff, bunker fuel.  "Bunker fuel is a toxic asphalt like substance."  "Bunker fuel litterally comes from the bottom of the barrel when oil is refined and is espeially harmful when burned, leading to air pollution responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year."

I believe bunker fuel is still being used because trying to regulate what is burned in international waters would be almost impossible to regulate, getting hundreds of countries to agree to stop using it is highly unlikely, and the price of everything would rise.  Things like this computer and the cup of coffee I'm going up to the kitchen to have right now.