Beyond carbon: Shipping needs to update its language about greenhouse gas emissions

We should talk about laughing gas. This is no joke. We best know nitrous oxide, whose chemical formula is N₂O, for its role in making dentist appointments less torturous.

But it is important for shipping because it is a greenhouse gas — despite having no carbon atom in its molecule — that can even be part of the emissions of the fuels we think of as the most climate friendly of future fuels.