TOW DOLLY

Reducing the number of industries contributing to the collapse of our planet's environment actually lowers the cost on the services these companies provide in many cases.

Reducing the number of industries contributing to the collapse of our planet's environment actually lowers the cost on the services these companies provide in many cases. Some technologically minded theorists quiver with excitement over new technologies like super-crystals and nano-microchips. Others are simply insatiable consumers with no concept of how things work as long as they can own the latest gadgets the new technologies provide. These fashionistas will grab the latest generation of wireless cell phones so they can listen to music without earbuds while displaying themselves on crowded, noisy thoroughfares. They could care less about the technology or even the music for that matter. They are the trendy ones.

Car owners tend to follow the same pattern. To many of them, a car is a luxury item, while to others it a symbol of status, an achievement to display. There are approximately 25% of car owners worldwide who own their vehicle not out of necessity, but because "everybody has one." Some own cars even though it is not sensible or convenient to do so. Yet these same people will do anything, even work multiple jobs so they can show that they own a car, whether used or new, or Kia Rio or Mercedes XL. Why? So they can drive around the corner (instead of walk) to the hottest club.

Some of this rubs off on related services. Burgeoning industries like auto shipping originated out of a real need for the services. They strive to excel in their industry through expanded services and marketing campaigns to soon become not just a service provider but a status symbol. When the symbol becomes generally recognizable, not only the major players, but the minor league as well benefit from unchecked consumerism.

There are measures in place to reduce the effect of heavy cargo carriers on the environment. But these measures are fighting against a rapidly increasing shipping industry, with continued growth in both potential and popularity. Innovative technologies are constantly emerging in the industry but there is no technology as yet to reverse the damage to the sea and the air caused by just one ro-ro ferry in finishing up just one job.

To the individual, the environmental damages to the environment are not apparent or significant enough to be of concern. Quite the contrary. Rampant consumerism detracts from the reality of pollution of the air and the sea lurking in the periphery of the heavy cargo shipping industry. Large cargo ships introduce invasive species into the environment that cost just the United States alone many billions of dollars annually. Bacteria, many strains of cholera, toxic algae, and destructive pests like the Zebra Mussel are disseminated throughout the environment by ballast water. One load of this water dumped by a freight carrier can spread in a matter of years enough vermin to bring the end to fisheries, agriculture, tourism and recreational industries.

That the future of the auto shipping industry seems bright, one must realize, is not merely because the business takes its natural course, but because its marketing is successful. Before we know it, governments may impose technical and performance restrictions and charges for use on roads, vehicle types, and mass services precisely because business, right now, seems good.