Climate Change
Shipping is, statistically, the least environmentally damaging mode of transport, when its productive value is taken into consideration. Moreover, set against land-based industry, shipping is, overall, a comparatively minor contributor to marine pollution from human activities. The carbon footprint is also an important component of the ecological footprint, since it is one of the competing demands for biologically productive space.
Carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels accumulate in the atmosphere if there is not enough biocapacity dedicated to absorbing these emissions.
This framework also shows climate change in a larger context – one that unites all of the environmental threats we face today.
Climate change, deforestation, overgrazing, collapsing fisheries, food insecurity, and the rapid extinction of species are all part of one overarching problem: humanity simply demands more from the Earth than it can provide. By focusing on a single issue, we can treat all of its symptoms, rather than solving one problem at the expense of another. It also makes the self-interest of the work more apparent.
