Over this upcoming winter break, my friends and I are going on a cruise. As the days become less and less til we leave, I remembered talking about cruise ships in this class earlier this semester. I scavenged the scholar page until I found what I was looking for; cruise ships and waste.
In The Post and Courier, one writer talked about the negative effects of docked cruise ships. The writer, Dana Beach, first complained about the noise and soot problems of the ships. Every year hundreds of ships come into port at cities such as Charleston and Key West, and thousands of tourists pour out into these cities. While in dock, the cruise ships emit a constant stream of smoke while also releasing all their sewage and ground up waste directly into the harbor. In one such case, Carnival was fined 18 million dollars for dumping oily waste into the ocean and falsifying it in their log books.
Dumping sewage into the ocean during the cruise isn't a rare occurrence; it seems to happen on every trip. While on a trip to Mexico, a couple went to go snorkeling when their guide told them to get out of the water. A cruise ship less than a mile away discharged its septic system directly into the ocean. Along with sewage, food that guests do not finish gets ground up and dumped into the ocean as slurry. Neither of these things are good for the environment because they decrease the pH of the water, lower the amount of oxygen present, and destroy habitats for many species. The disturbing part of all of this is that the cruise lines have the money to make changes onboard the ships. They could add new technology to limit the amount of waste discharged. but all of the cruise lines have the money to pay the fines too. These fines are far cheaper than refitting all ships with environmentally friendly waste containers, so most cruise lines are ok with paying them.
Over the last decade, American regulations have gotten tighter for ships to discharge waste into the ocean. One way companies are bypassing these regulations is by dumping in Canadian waters. For the cruise ships that travel to Alaska, dumping into water off of British Columbia is ideal because there are no discharge regulations. Canda does not have any quality standards for gray water, so American ships can dump theirs straight into the ocean. Loop holes such as this need to be fixed so cruise lines are held accountable for their actions. It's sad to think, with all the money these cruise companies make, that cruise ships are still not suited for properly disposing waste.
The last article had an interesting part that talked about the amount of waste passengers would generate on a typical cruise line. According to the EPA: 21,000 gallons of sewage, one ton of garbage, 170,000 gallons of gray water, and more than 8,500 plastic bottles per day. 75% of garbage is incinerated which leads to increased smog. It is also legal to discharge untreated sewage farther than three miles off the US shore.
I feel that stricter punishments and better regulation should be done for cruise lines. So many ships go out to sea with thousands of passengers, and that equals out to thousands of gallons of waste. With the fines being cheaper than the actual cleaning devices, cruise companies have nothing to fear. Either the fines should become greater, or as has happened in the past, and environmental monitor should be aboard each vessel. Oceanic ecosystems are some of the last unknown treasures out there. If we continue to poison the water, the oceans are bound to become an underwater landfill.
I didn't realize the fines for dumping waste were much cheaper than retrofitting the cruise ships to be more environmentally friendly. I'm trying to wrap my head around what these ships could do to reduce this repulsive behavior. I definitely think plastic bottles should be phased out and not be allowed on cruise ships. Ships have water desalination systems on board and could easily encourage the use of/distribute reusable bottles. Also, trash compactors could be used to compact recyclables from the kitchen, empty cleaning supply bottles, etc. I think recycling should be mandatory. Is there anyway excess food could be sorted into compost or compacted? And what kind of changes could be made to reduce the septic waste? I also think, as you mentioned, an environmental monitor should be on each vessel. And maybe through other programs or volunteer efforts, environmental advocates could encourage eco-friendly behavior on ships; sadly, as with most issues it seems, economics is the main motivator. Therefore, either incentives for ships who don't dump waste, or EXTREMELY high fines for ships who do, should be considered. Perhaps if a ship is heavily fined, once the ship successfully implements retrofitted technologies, they could earn their money back.
ReplyDeleteCruise ships are just a small part of dumping that occurs. If you haven't heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, you should read up on it. Basically, random pieces of garbage from all over the world work their way into the sea and currents carry them all into a small part of the ocean. Its size is estimated to be between 270,000 and 5,800,000 square miles. It just goes to show the visibility of environmental problems is based on their proximity to us: we care if someone dumps gray water near our coasts, but very few have ever heard of this giant floating garbage patch in the sea.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch
I think it is a shame to see so much waste being dumped directly into the ocean without treatment of any kind. I realize the cost of dumping is much cheaper than trying to retrofit these cruise ships, but the government needs to step in and create harsher penalties to companies that are taking part in these environmentally degrading activities. Small changes can be made to not just the ship, but the way the ship runs. For example, switching the linen services to every other day compared to every day. Or using trash build up to help drive the ship itself. There needs to also be an increase in incentives for this cruise companies. Right now, just adding policies won’t help entirely because there is no way to really track how the ships operate.
ReplyDeleteYes it is a shame that ships are taking advantage of the loopholes in regulations of other countries around the world to save a few bucks. I believe that when the laws pertaining to mass waste discharge in the oceans were made, law makers did not have cruise ships in mind. I do believe that those laws should either be tightened or changed entirely, with fines that rival the cost of updating a ship's waste storage facilities. Everything that has to do with this problem is run by money -
ReplyDeleteI agree that the use of so many plastic bottles on board these vessels is too high but I do not think that it should be outlawed. Mandatory recycling on board these cruise ships is an idea that could catch on. This regulation could be monitored a lot closer than raw water discharge. With the recycling of plastic, there is some incentive with a monetary reward. As for burning garbage, I feel there is no right or wrong answer. The alternative to burning it on the boat is bringing it back on shore. When it comes back on shore it will either be burned there or put into a landfill. When it sits in the landfill, it still has the potential to get into our navigable waters or into our groundwater. Which is worse in your opinion?