Want some some zinc, nickel and copper in your Alaskan salmon? Well, now you can.
Today the Republican controlled Alaska Senate voted 14 to 6 to approve a law proposed by Governor Parnell to abolish cruise ship wastewater standards enacted in 2006.
The Anchorage Daily News reports that the new law will allow the cruise
Governor Parnell and the pro-cruise pollution legislators in Alaska have some new talking points in their efforts to weaken the cruise line waste water restrictions. They say that its not the cruise sewage that will harm the state’s image but their opponents’ "hype" that easing the standards will result in "dirty water and terrible discharges."
In 2006, Alaskan citizens sent a clear message to the cruise industry that cruise ships could not treat the beautiful waters of Alaska like a toilet.
Seven years ago Alaskan voters approved legislation that prohibited cruise ships from discharging "untreated sewage, treated sewage, graywater or other wastewaters in a manner that violates any applicable
KTOO news station in Alaska reports today that the Environmental Protection Agency fined Princess Cruises $20,000 for dumping water from six swimming pools aboard the Golden Princess cruise ship into Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in 2011.
The EPA announced the fine against the cruise line yesterday.
Princess was forced to sign a consent agreement
The Juneau Empire newspaper reports today that a cruise ship passenger from Texas died after after his kayak overturned in Mendenhall Lake in Juneau, Alaska on Sunday.
A spokeswoman for the Tongass National Forest stated that the deceased cruise passengers was 62 year old Michael Ray Fullerton. Mr. Fullerton was with other family members, from a cruise
The Juneau Empire published an interesting article this morning about how the cruise industry routinely ignores a U.S. law requiring the use of U.S. longshore workers to perform certain duties, such as operating tender boats and handling cargo and luggage.
The newspaper reports that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) plans to picket today over the practice of the cruise lines which refuse to utilize
A passenger from the Disney Wonder cruise ship kayaking in Juneau was found dead over the past weekend. KINY Radio reports that the U.S. Coast Guard was notified Saturday morning and found 67-year-old cruise passenger Robert Newell unconscious in a kayak in the vicinity of Spuhn Island.
The Coast Guard brought him ashore, and rescue personnel declared him dead
The Juneau Empire reports that Alaska just weakened its wastewater regulations at the cruise industry’s request. Cruise ships are now permitted to dump greater amount of ammonia (from fecal matter), copper, nickel and zinc in Alaska’s pristine waters.
The newspaper reports that the cruise industry is "pleased" and and "appreciates" the new wastewater discharge rules.
The cruise
The Alaska Senate approved a measure today which will lower Alaska’s head tax on cruise ship passengers by at least $11.50 a passenger – from $46 to $34.50.
Count this one as a big win for Carnival and it subsidiaries – Princess Cruises and Holland America Line – which are the major polluters of Alaska’s waters.
In exchange for
The Anchorage Daily News has an interesting editorial today by Alaska resident and green water scientist Gershon Cohen entitled "Power to the People, Not the Cruise Industry." He characterizes Governor Parnell’s decision to reduce the cruise "head tax" from $46 a cruise passenger to only $19 as a sell out to the Miami-based cruise
The cruise industry is preparing to fight against clean air regulations which will protect the U.S. and Canada from the nasty bunker fuels burned by hundreds of cruise ships.
Reuters reports that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is proposing a plan to create a buffer zone around the U.S. and Canada which will require low emissions from cruise ships.
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Earlier this week, I attended the "Cruise Shipping Miami" convention here in Miami and reported on the threats against Alaska’s Governor Parnell leveled by Holland American Lines’ CEO Stein Kruse to pull HAL cruise ships from Alaska. (photo courtesy Travel Agent Central)
As we all know, HAL is wholly owned by Carnival and Kruse reports directly to Carnival CEO and multi-billionaire Mickey
Newspapers in Alaska are reporting that cruise lines are trying to avoid Alaska’s strict waste water laws.
The Juneau Empire reports that the cruise industry is complaining to lawmakers in Alaska that the limits on ammonia are too strict. The cruise industry’s "Alaska Cruise Association" – comprised of Miami based cruise lines – is again posturing to reposition its
There is an interesting article today in the Juneau Empire "Legislators Debate Removal of Cruise Panel Member Cohen – Cruise Ally Defends Removal of Industry Foe."
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The article points out that a Republican legislator, Craig Johnson (photo left), is defending the removal of waste water scientist Gershon Cohen (photo below) from a cruise ship science advisory panel at the insistence of
Newspapers in Alaska are reporting that the cruise industry is behind the sudden removal of a highly qualified green water scientist from an advisory council on cruise ship waste water discharge.
In December 2009, the Alaskan Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") invited environmental scientist Gershon Cohen to join the state’s cruise ship waste water treatment science panel. The advisory panel has 11 members, with experts in
The U.S. Coast Guard is now reporting that the missing California passenger, Ms. Edelgard Carney, went overboard at 6:08 a.m. Tuesday, 200 miles south of Ketchikan. An announcement with such a specific time obviously means that there are closed circuit surveillance tapes which captured images which precisely document the time the passenger went overboard.
Previously, news sources reported that Ms. Carney disappeared on
A 67-year-old passenger is the latest "disappearance" from a cruise ship. This case involves a U.S. citizen who sailed on Princess Cruises’ cruise ship Sapphire Princess from Alaska en route to Vancouver. She has not been identified.
According to Dr. Ross Klein, the leading authority on passenger disappearances in the world , there have been over 120 "disappearances" from cruise ships over the past
Today Carnival issued a press release which reported profits of $1,100,000,000 for the third quarter ending August 31, 2009. The cruise line collected revenues from passengers of over $4,000,000,000 in the last three months.
This announcement of Carnival’s over-a-billion-dollars-in-profits comes two days after the Carnival dominated "Alaska" Cruise Association filed a lawsuit against Alaska over the $50-a-passenger tax.
Four days ago, the
