The campaign to ‘green’ the oceans

The campaign to ‘green’ the oceans
by Jackie Alan Giuliano

Each day, whether at sea or in port, a typical cruise-ship passenger may generate one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of burnable waste, half a kilogram of food waste and one kilogram of glass and tin – five or six times as much as a person on shore. On a ship carrying 3,000 passengers, this could be as much as 7,500 kilograms a day (16,500 pounds) of waste, much of which is dumped at sea into fragile marine ecosystems. Since international law only concerns itself with the waters a few miles off shore of most countries, these ships are not being held accountable for their destructive actions. In fact, most international treaties governing cruise ship pollution specifically allow ships to dump waste, including untreated human waste, at sea. Every month, 200 cruises take 400,000 visitors to Caribbean ports alone.

Cruise ship companies have paid substantial fines in the last few years. In 1998, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the world’s second largest cruise line, was fined $9 million for dumping polluted water off the coast of Miami, Fla., and Puerto Rico. Last March, the company was fined another $500,000 for dumping off Los Angeles. In July of 1999, Royal Caribbean agreed to pay $18 million in fines to settle a 21-count felony plea agreement. The company’s ships violated federal environmental laws in Miami, New York City, Los Angeles, Anchorage, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. In October 1999, Royal Caribbean pleaded guilty to falsifying oil discharge records on one of its ships that was stopped in a Los Angeles port, agreeing to face more than $1 million in fines.

It is unimaginable that international governmental bodies can claim that any level of open ocean dumping is acceptable. The toll that this waste takes on marine life is staggering. Each year, millions of animals become trapped or poisoned by marine refuse. Sea turtles will often die from eating plastic bags that they mistake for jellyfish. Sea lions, birds and other sea life become entangled in plastic six-pack holders, nets, and other debris. Their fate is a slow, painful death as they grow into the entanglement. It is estimated that as many as 30,000 Northern fur seals die annually from entanglement in debris. In one year, nearly 15 billion pounds of trash is dumped at sea worldwide. About 77 percent of all ship waste comes from cruise ships. Cruise ships will also dump bilge water, a blackish liquid that contains oils, fuels, solvents and many other toxic chemicals that gather in the bilges of the ship.

The enforcement problem is magnified since many U.S. ships register their vessels under foreign flags. Even the Disney company’s 2,200-passenger vessel Magic sails under a foreign flag. The Royal Caribbean company registers its ships in Norway and Liberia, a scheme that saves the company nearly $30 million in U.S. taxes. A U.S. study found that only two out of 111 cases referred to other nations by the U.S. were acted upon.

Although there are signs that regulations are increasing in some countries, we must challenge, once and for all, any ocean dumping. There is no such place as "away" on our Earth, and we must work hard to get all people – especially politicians and corporate leaders – to realize that our oceans are all connected and vital to the health of our planet.

The ultimate enforcer of environmental protection is the consumer. If you are planning a cruise, investigate the cruise line to be sure their ships are not polluters. If they are, do not patronize the company. Ask the same of your friends. If you do take a cruise, take along a video camera and record any dumping or suspicious slicks on the surface. The horrors caused by marine debris – all in the name of recreation – must stop.

RESOURCES

Visit the Center for Marine Conservation’s Marine Debris website to learn what you can do about marine pollution at www.cmc-ocean.org/mdio/.
Learn what you can do about strengthening ocean dumping laws at www.cmc-ocean.org/mdio/laws.php3.
Read a comprehensive report on cruise ship pollution at www.guardiannewsltr.com /Subscribers/environews/mar_apr99.htm and at www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/103/07_whisp.htm.
See the National Center for Environmental Health’s cruise ship sanitation program at www.cdc.gov/nceh/programs/sanit/vsp/vsp.htm.
Visit the Bluewater Network, a project of the Earth Island Institute at www.earthisland.org/bw/ for information about an ongoing campaign against cruise ship pollution.

Jackie Alan Giuliano is a writer who is the Environmental Education Programs Manager and the Manager of Discovery Park for the City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. Reprinted with permission from the author and the Environment News Service (http://www.ens-news.com). The author may be contacted at jackie@healingourworld.com and his website, containing an archive of his commentaries and information on his new book, is at <http://www.healingourworld.com>.