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."
The Dirty Alaskan Cruise Industry Just Got Dirtier
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
Cruise Ship Air Pollution Chokes Hong Kong
The Smart Planet blog has an interesting article about the effects of the ever growing cruise industry upon ports in Asia.
Entitled Hong Kong Contends with Pollution from a Growing Cruise Industry, the article reveals the extent to which cruise lines are still burning bunker fuel while not even equipping their ships with the
Princess Cruises Fined for Dumping 66,000 Gallons of Chlorinated Water into Glacier Bay in Alaska
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
Cruise Ships Turn British Columbia Waters into “Toilet Bowel of Raw Sewage”
The Vancouver Sun published a provocative headline this weekend entitled "B.C. Waters a Toilet Bowl of Raw Sewage."
It caught my attention after my family just returned from a vacation from British Columbia, where my kids surfed and we went whale watching in the B.C. waters.
Environmentalists’ believe that waters off British Columbia in Canada are the
Cruise Industry Retaliates Against Green Water Scientist
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
New Report Details Cruise Industry’s Record of Pollution
A report entitled "Getting a Grip on Cruise Pollution" released today by the Friends of the Earth (FOE) organization concludes that the billions of dollars earned by the cruise industry 
each year comes at a significant cost to our nation’s air and water.
The report was researched and authored by Ross Klein, a Professor
Super Ships – Rogues on the High Seas
U.K. ‘s Mail Online has an informative article in its Sunday edition today addressing the use of bunker fuels by cruise ships and other large shipping vessels entitled "How 16 Ships Create As Much Pollution As All The Cars In The World."
I wrote about the cruise industry’s use of bunker fuels in a blog
Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas Arrives in Fort Lauderdale
Royal Caribbean’s new "Genesis" class cruise ship, Oasis of the Seas, arrived this morning in Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale, Florida).
It looks big.
Here are two videos. The first by the Miami Herald shows the arrival of the cruise ship in port. The second by CBS News, featuring Peter Greenberg, is an introductory piece.
Prayers for
Princess’ Cult of a Cruise – #FollowMeAtSea Folly
Over the past week, those of you who read my blog but don’t Twitter missed the remarkable phenomenon of bickering between a small group of travel bloggers invited by Princess Cruises to promote cruising under the hash tag #followmeatsea – and a larger group of green travelers who could not stomach the wow-cruising-is-amazing tone of the tweets.
"Bickering" may be an understatement. The