Environmentalists Petition EPA to Reduce Air Pollution from Shipping

Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, and EarthJustice have petitioned the EPA to regulate marine shipping so as to reduce emissions.  Here's the petition: Petition for Rulemaking Under the Clean Air Act to Reduce the Emission of Air Pollutants from Marine Shipping Vessels that Contribute to Global Climate Change (October 3, 2007). 

Here's the Oceana website on the petition: No More Free Ride: Global Warming Pollution from Ships Must be Regulated.  Oceana notes:

• This fleet releases between 600 and 900 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, an amount equivalent to emissions from at least 130 million cars -- about the number of cars operated in the United States.
• A single container ship emits more global warming pollution than 2,000 diesel trucks.
• By 2020, these emissions could double 2002 levels, and they could be triple those levels by 2030.
• Ships also are major releasers of nitrogen oxides – contributing nearly 30% of the world’s releases. This amount too is expected to triple by 2030.

Here's the petition: Petition for Rulemaking Under the Clean Air Act to Reduce the Emission of Air Pollutants from Marine Shipping Vessels that Contribute to Global Climate Change (October 3, 2007). 

In this petition we request that EPA promulgate regulations (1) requiring marine shipping vessels to meet emissions standards by operating in a fuel-efficient manner, using cleaner fuels, and/or employing technical controls, so as to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and black carbon, and (2) controlling the manufacture and sale of fuels used in marine shipping vessels by imposing fuel standards to reduce emission products that contribute to global warming.

Here's a current story on a University of Delaware study on the health impacts of shipping emissions: Pollution from marine shipping (Bridges Trade BioRes, November 2007).