Think About This Thursday
I may be one of the few people in this world who has never been on a cruise. I never got the opportunity when I was young and then I married a man who downright refuses to go on one. WHY is dear husband so anti-cruise? Because he HAS gone on one and after being so violently ill he didn’t leave the bathroom for 2 days he refuses to go on another one! I tried to plead my case…what a great way to vacation with kids, think of how much fun we could have, and we could go see the beautiful scenery of the Alaska coastline! Nope, no budging. Then he hits me where it counts with “Don’t you know how bad they are for the environment?” Ouch! While I knew that the fuel consumption would be huge I never stopped to think about other environmental concerns surrounding cruise ships. So I started digging deeper into this issue and am really appalled at what I discovered! The biggest concern regarding cruise ships and the environment seems to be the waste that is pumped into the ocean from bathrooms, medical facilities, pool maintenance, dry cleaners, and laundry facilities on board. Apparently, what you flush down the drain can actually be dumped untreated into the ocean so long as the ship is at least three nautical miles from shore. As a result, there is a phenomenal amount of human waste, hazardous chemicals, and pharmaceuticals all being flushed out into the ocean. I (quite naively, I guess) thought that cruise lines had to store this waste for treatment after returning to dock. That is what RV’s do, right? I never realized that dumping untreated waste water into the ocean was an acceptable practice ANYWHERE!
Think About This: In a recent EPA survey of boats operating in Alaska, cruise ships reported generating an average of 21,000 gallons of sewage a day. That is a staggering amount of waste to be dumping into our oceans! According to the Friends of the Earth, a large cruise ship on a one week voyage is estimated to generate:
- 210,000 gallons of human sewage,
- 1 million gallons of gray water (water from sinks, baths, showers, laundry, and galleys),
- 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water,
- Up to 11,550 gallons of sewage sludge, and
- More than 130 gallons of hazardous wastes.
Friends of the Earth has put together a ‘report card’ of sorts that grades cruise lines on their environmental impact. Since people aren’t going to just stop taking cruises (well, accept for my husband and I apparently!) you can use this report card to choose a ‘greener’ ocean vessel. Companies are rated based on sewage treatment, air pollution reduction, water quality compliance and accessibility of environmental information.
Like most environmental awareness groups, the Friends of the Earth has a few detractors. According to AOL Travel, (and I quote here):“The Cruise Lines International Association released a statement calling the Friends of the Earth “a campaign fundraising group” and that the criteria for the survey were “arbitrary and flawed.” The statement continues on to say that its members “meet and exceed” environmental standards, accusing the group of misstating facts “to advance its own agenda.”
So, who do we believe? I really have no idea…the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Head over to the Friends of the Earth website and check out the Cruise Ship Report Card to see which cruise lines are doing a better job at protecting the environment. They definitely NOT all created equally! It is interesting to note that not a single cruise line scored an A on this report card. Many of the cruise lines listed also have a link for sustainability information on their websites if you want to check out their points of view regarding this issue.
Want to take action? Sign the petition
If you decide that you absolutely cannot skip that vacation cruise you have been dreaming about, at least check out the report card and choose a cruise line that has shown to be working to improve their environmental stewardship. Or, maybe you could choose a super green vacation instead like one of these Top Ten Eco-friendly Getaways!
Where are you heading on your next vacation?
Have you ever chosen an eco-friendly destination?
Signing the petition now! Thanks for bringing this up. This is definitely something I hadn’t thought about.
signing
I hadn’t ever thought about this before, but it is appalling that they are allowed to dump sewage into the ocean. I signed the petition and will be using the Friends of the earth guide if we ever go on a cruise.
“210,000 gallons of human sewage” – wow, that’s a lot of sewage from one ship! LOL!
Wow! I never thought of it that way. always hear about really awesome cruises. Thanks for the info.
Minta
I’ve never been on a cruise either. My hubby won’t set foot on one either. I hadn’t realized how bad they were for the environment though. I will go sign the petition.
I always wondered what they did with the sewage. I just assumed it was stored and dumped in an appropriate place after the cruise. I’m signing the petition.