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NASA Satellite Spots Foul Pollution Trails Over Shipping Lanes

theatlanticcities.com -- Nitrogen dioxide is a nasty gas produced largely by internal-combustion engines. A small whiff of NO2 is enough to anesthetize the nose, and its chemical byproducts can harm the cardiovascular system and trash a good pair of lungs.

This pernicious pollutant is rampant throughout the planet, but nowhere moreso than above the heavily trafficked lanes of international shipping vessels. While we don't often see (or even think about) the smoke-belching monsters that bring us our Japanese tuna belly and cheap Indian shirts, NASA has found a nifty way to visualize the collective pollution that boats pump into the atmosphere.

.. The sickeningly dense clouds of nitrogen around the coasts of various countries arise from cities, obviously, with off-shore oil rigs producing intense concentration

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Submitted Feb 12, 2013 By: teafortwo

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honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,650 Points:1,612,445 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 16, 2013 5:41:44 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse lots of foreign ships are poorly maintained. No surprise here.
honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,650 Points:1,612,445 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 15, 2013 5:57:17 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse thanks for posting, T42!
LetemEatCake Champion Author Oklahoma City Posts:5,615 Points:1,207,555 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Feb 14, 2013 12:01:34 AM Ignore LetemEatCake Report Abuse Excellent article T42...thanks for posting!
remay Champion Author Houston Posts:6,980 Points:2,120,455 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Feb 13, 2013 8:38:14 AM Ignore remay Report Abuse Hmmmm... a dirty little secret exposed?
crep1291 Champion Author Ottawa Posts:2,588 Points:481,575 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 11:10:22 PM Ignore crep1291 Report Abuse "Mother Earth can take care of herself." Correct. Unfortunately, one day she might just decide to take care of us.
leemun Champion Author Utah Posts:5,549 Points:1,043,050 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 10:00:40 PM Ignore leemun Report Abuse Oh, goody goody! Environazis have found another dangerous pollutant that nobody ever heard of before!
PDQBlues Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,089 Points:1,451,250 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 5:51:32 PM Ignore PDQBlues Report Abuse The shear number of cars certainly make more pollution then ships. But making ships less polluting will certainly help everyone (except those who like polluting to make a few bucks).
tomok Champion Author Portland Posts:33,090 Points:2,348,435 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 3:50:00 PM Ignore tomok Report Abuse NASA Satellite Spots Foul Pollution Trails Over Shipping Lanes? Ships can transport huge amounts of cargo using a reasonable amount of fuel, with the resulting stack pollution produced. Just like trains can transport cargo and containers using a smaller amount of fuel than trucks would use over the roads and highways of the US, each carrying the same amount of cargo. Maybe NASA Satellite can Spot the Foul Pollution Trails from the many different gases emitted by industrial and vehicle sources and the atmosphere content before industrialization and now. How has this pollution affected human life and the many different plants and other animal life on this planet since the start of industralization? Compare it to earth's natural gas releases from volcanos, marshes, bogs, deep organic deposits, oil and gas deposits, etc. or metor impacts from outside the earth. Crude oil, natural gas and fuel price related? Drive vehicles with high MPG, are very safe, reliable, have a ‘reasonable’ cost and a good ‘value’ for the money. The price of fuel at the pump is too high!
MadFueler All-Star Author Winston-Salem Posts:941 Points:175,435 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 1:32:31 PM Ignore MadFueler Report Abuse Whatever happened to the kite sails that ships were supposed to save fuel with?
lgwhitlock Champion Author Chico Posts:7,400 Points:1,688,420 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 11:03:32 AM Ignore lgwhitlock Report Abuse Considering most shipping takes place in international waters there it little the EPA can do except bring it to people's attention. However I suspect all the semi-trucks on the roads produce a lot of the stuff too...
teenitup Champion Author Houston Posts:1,679 Points:252,860 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 10:50:15 AM Ignore teenitup Report Abuse Snooze.
fuel2use Champion Author Seattle Posts:3,499 Points:735,345 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 9:54:03 AM Ignore fuel2use Report Abuse Technology marches on.
merlinCO Champion Author Colorado Posts:1,655 Points:344,320 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 9:38:58 AM Ignore merlinCO Report Abuse Capture it and put it on corn so we can produce more ethanol.
oas Champion Author Maryland Posts:4,245 Points:2,144,340 Joined:Feb 2005	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 8:48:27 AM Ignore oas Report Abuse Perhaps we should be focusing on these more than cars.
RUNNINONEMPTYFL Champion Author Florida Posts:1,408 Points:460,825 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 8:38:07 AM Ignore RUNNINONEMPTYFL Report Abuse Tree huggers!!!
PTBpricer Champion Author Virginia Posts:1,570 Points:208,370 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 8:31:20 AM Ignore PTBpricer Report Abuse Well said doeslayersr, well said.
angel4me Champion Author San Jose Posts:2,814 Points:796,045 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 8:28:36 AM Ignore angel4me Report Abuse they have known this long ago.......
geezrtek Champion Author Michigan Posts:1,922 Points:432,410 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 8:26:11 AM Ignore geezrtek Report Abuse Scientific data being interpreted by an airhead journalist only interested in spewing alarmist BS. The authors interchangeable use of "nitrogen" and "nitrogen dioxide", for example "The sickeningly dense clouds of nitrogen", is not just imprecise but for the person who does not realize that 79% of our atmosphere is composed of regular nitrogen (N2) is deceptive. And ?"Foul Pollution"? as opposed to the regular pollution or the nice pollution that we all love. Read the real article at http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=80375
doeslayersr Champion Author Illinois Posts:9,133 Points:874,930 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 8:16:04 AM Ignore doeslayersr Report Abuse Better suited for the climatebuddy site or forum.
bar1035 Champion Author Charlotte Posts:9,179 Points:1,301,145 Joined:Aug 2006	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:40:37 AM Ignore bar1035 Report Abuse Anybody here smoke?
ejl2000 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,272 Points:586,335 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:34:18 AM Ignore ejl2000 Report Abuse I blame Al Gore!
FNB1967 Champion Author Ontario Posts:1,847 Points:769,045 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:33:26 AM Ignore FNB1967 Report Abuse Interesting
WeasleyOC Champion Author Orange County Posts:3,164 Points:805,250 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:31:58 AM Ignore WeasleyOC Report Abuse If we clean them up, the costs will go up too.
fatboy97 Champion Author Twin Cities Posts:2,499 Points:1,710,500 Joined:Aug 2007	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:29:33 AM Ignore fatboy97 Report Abuse Too much to say about this... and I don't have the time.
jjjleblanc Champion Author Rochester Posts:5,888 Points:1,522,075 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:28:21 AM Ignore jjjleblanc Report Abuse Can you even see China through the smog?
maxcap59 Champion Author Texas Posts:2,787 Points:596,920 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:28:03 AM Ignore maxcap59 Report Abuse That's it. Ban ALL boats and ships, period! Save the planet! I can already see Gore and his greenies going after this one. Idiots.
CarefulDriver All-Star Author Ann Arbor Posts:585 Points:236,145 Joined:Aug 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:27:22 AM Ignore CarefulDriver Report Abuse Interesting.
ttfn5tigger Champion Author Indianapolis Posts:1,913 Points:416,300 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:26:31 AM Ignore ttfn5tigger Report Abuse instead of complaining about it, develop a cost-effective alternative to the present engines.
isem Champion Author Missouri Posts:1,941 Points:426,110 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:25:11 AM Ignore isem Report Abuse Move on...
sawdust1825 All-Star Author Illinois Posts:857 Points:439,580 Joined:Sep 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:24:40 AM Ignore sawdust1825 Report Abuse Unrelated but interesting
tdc007 Champion Author Lexington Posts:1,123 Points:385,555 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:24:31 AM Ignore tdc007 Report Abuse Not surprised, but pollutants produced per ton of freight transported is probably the least for ships as compared to any other form of transport.
4064BORI Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:1,382 Points:422,300 Joined:Feb 2010	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:23:59 AM Ignore 4064BORI Report Abuse That is for the other blog pollution at sea.
calripken_8 Champion Author Virginia Posts:2,916 Points:662,115 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:23:16 AM Ignore calripken_8 Report Abuse Well then let's stop shipping anything, mmmmm-kay?
Jamer Champion Author Las Vegas Posts:8,774 Points:1,639,185 Joined:Jul 2002	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:22:13 AM Ignore Jamer Report Abuse NOT a fuel price subject.
marinedad1949 Champion Author Lancaster Posts:2,506 Points:506,370 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:22:09 AM Ignore marinedad1949 Report Abuse Mother Earth can take care of herself.
PurduePete86 Champion Author Indiana Posts:2,164 Points:1,155,770 Joined:Apr 2007	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:22:01 AM Ignore PurduePete86 Report Abuse another downside of offshoring jobs
MaxGasUp All-Star Author Maryland Posts:795 Points:232,515 Joined:Sep 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:21:13 AM Ignore MaxGasUp Report Abuse OK.
my2002m Champion Author Tulsa Posts:6,088 Points:1,673,205 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:21:09 AM Ignore my2002m Report Abuse When its done somewhere else not much you can do about it.
RangerBob58 Champion Author Dayton Posts:3,132 Points:665,675 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:21:07 AM Ignore RangerBob58 Report Abuse Buy American
drakeman70 Sophomore Author Vermont Posts:110 Points:41,215 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:20:16 AM Ignore drakeman70 Report Abuse ok how do you fixit.
rbutterw Champion Author Raleigh Posts:1,195 Points:296,425 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:19:23 AM Ignore rbutterw Report Abuse Way to go - we are hurting the earth mother again
biza4u Champion Author New Haven Posts:8,538 Points:1,630,825 Joined:Jan 2007	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:19:09 AM Ignore biza4u Report Abuse ok
dave364 Champion Author Lansing Posts:4,959 Points:1,440,245 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:19:04 AM Ignore dave364 Report Abuse bs
LocalSpyGuy Champion Author Tampa Posts:7,815 Points:1,588,100 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:18:51 AM Ignore LocalSpyGuy Report Abuse We're beginning to use alternative fuel for other transportation. Why not develop it for these large vessels?
ponyNJ All-Star Author New Jersey Posts:528 Points:894,185 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:17:32 AM Ignore ponyNJ Report Abuse I guess what we need are electric powered boats dragging giant floating solar panels. Never mind having to pay the crews overtime on cloudy days, we can always just print more money. But wait, if it is also a windless day we won't have power to run the presses.
JCUBE Champion Author Michigan Posts:8,585 Points:1,918,145 Joined:Aug 2003	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:17:24 AM Ignore JCUBE Report Abuse NOT gas price related...DUH!
mustangdaver Champion Author Ontario Posts:2,596 Points:759,850 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:16:26 AM Ignore mustangdaver Report Abuse ok
Ltdc Champion Author Long Island Posts:7,230 Points:1,680,795 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:16:23 AM Ignore Ltdc Report Abuse Of course the question is what can you do about it?
ExplodingGlass Champion Author Maine Posts:1,365 Points:768,470 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:16:09 AM Ignore ExplodingGlass Report Abuse prolly
Edpap Champion Author Pennsylvania Posts:4,349 Points:509,100 Joined:Oct 2011	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 7:16:04 AM Ignore Edpap Report Abuse I thought the atmosphere was already 70% nitrogen, so dense clouds appear to be natural. This article is a waste of time to even read.