Slow

©  2010  Rose George

Slow is replacing fast in shipping. It is about saving fuel and money, essentially, but has the nice side effect of cutting greenhouse gas emissions too. Maersk Line, the world’s biggest shipping company, now routinely “slow-steams,” its ships doing sometimes as little as 14 knots when before they would do 20 and higher. It is good news, but Maersk is, as in many things, the exception in shipping, not the rule. This New York Times story gives a good overview of all things environmental and maritime, a combination that you rarely see in mainstream journalism.