A kickstarter project recently sent me a link to this live interactive global marine traffic map so I could track the individual cargo ship my new board game was on. This was the first time I’ve gotten that specific of shipping information and the first time I’d seen this map.

Intellectually I know there is a ton of shipping traffic to keep the global supply chain churning, but it was kinda shocking to behold what that really looks like at scale. Zoom in more and you’ll see the ships multiply as the resolution gets sharper. Incredible and disturbing all at once. What are we doing to this planet for the price of cheap crap and out-of-season produce? And yes, I am guilty as anyone participating in all this but I at least try to be mindful of reducing the amount of random stuff I purchase. Most of the time. Kickstarting board games are an exception, of course.