I Heard that the 10 largest cargoships produce that Same amount of pollution then all cars combined.
Why are there no nuclear powered cargo ships?
In: 35
Nuclear reactors are fantastically expensive. The oil sludge they run container ships on is not.
As you mentioned there are big external costs society had to pay in CO2 and sulfur emissions. Evergreen and Maersk don’t have to cut a check to pay that cost, so they have no incentive to change. It’s a a perverse incentive of the market economy that a business will increase external costs without limit if it generates more profit for themselves.
The other reason is fear. Nuclear reactors are not something most of the public has experience or knowledge of, so they’re more vulnerable to stoked up to be irrationally afraid of it. I’m not saying nuclear reactors don’t have hazards. There’s radiation, heavy metals, a remote chance of fission product release, etc. But climate change is also hazardous and that’s what it needs to be weighed against.
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