Your car, your dishwasher, your laptop, your smartphone, your furniture, even the clothes you wear: unless it has been locally produced, it’s a safe bet to say that all these items sailed the seven seas before you bought them. It’s hardly a gamble, actually: more profitable than any other, ocean freight plays a key role in the global economy as 90% of goods produced around the globe transit through the sea.
Although every cargo ship pollutes as much as 50 million cars, ocean freight – which produces as much greenhouse gas as South Korea – was not subject to any greenhouse gas emissions target until recently. Fortunately, this anomaly was sorted out last April. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) – which depends upon the UN –, has found an agreement to reduce cargo ships emissions by 50 % from now to 2050.
The International Sustainable Development Studies Institute in Thailand is taking its own teachings to heart with the an eco-friendly campus crafted from 22 recycled shipping containers. Now, the institute has a clear example when teaching students about the importance of upcycling and sustainability, plus plenty of space for educating on tree conservation, urban farming, waste management and more.
The pollution of ocean freight
However, ocean freight causes a much more unexpected problem. Due to commercial balance unsteadiness, millions of containers coming from Asia clutter up North-American and European harbors because there is simply not enough freight to ship them back to their country of origin. As there is no industry capable of recycling them, 300 million containers were just put on garbage dumps where they slowly fall into disrepair.
