Conclusion and Final Thoughts

So I'm in the final stages of my blogging experience on the cruise ship industry and their impacts on the environment. My first thoughts on the cruising industry were that it's a great way for easy transport and a unique travelling resort. After my first few days of researching the topic I learned that this is actually a terrible thing for the environment and it can devastate ecosystems all over the world! The ballast water is what I found to be the worst part of the problem because sure the chemicals from the smoke stacks were harming the air and killing the ozone layer, and yes they were doing far too much dumping into the waters of their waste, but these can be solved with some general efforts and knowledge. The ballast water problems were taking organisms into foreign waters and no matter what kind of research you do, you can't full understand or predict what kind of results will come from this.

After some more research I learned that there are some companies that are aware of what they are doing to the environment, and they are doing things to help protect it, as well as helping communities that are in need of support.

Something that I found out about the cruise line industry that I did not previously know or that I wrote about was that the largest cruise ship in the world could hold over half of my hometown's population. This just astonishes me that there are vessels this big out there, and that they are able to fill them for nearly every trip.

So in conclusion, I would definitely recommend taking a cruise, but I suggest you do your research before hand and try to choose a cruise liner that is attempting to do their part to offset their carbon footprint, and help preserve the environment, because without this environment, these cruise liners will have no product to market.

Cheers

Why Should We Continue Travelling Via Cruise Ships?

Cruise ships, even though they harm the environment on so many different levels, still cater to our daily needs, without us realizing we are polluting the environment. It's like commuting to work, yes you are polluting the environment, but does the average person stop and think while they're stuck in traffic about the amount of gas they're wasting, or the emissions that are going into the environment because of them? Probably not. These cruise ships are made, and marketed to us so that we don't think about the problems they possess, but rather the problems that they're fixing. For example, if you are single and looking to meet new people, they have a cruise for that. If you are retired and just want to relax, they have a cruise for that. Are you gay/lesbian and want to be around other homosexuals on a boat? They have a cruise for that. If you have a young family where mom and dad want to go on a cruise, but the kids want to go to Disneyland, well they even have a cruise for that!

My point is, they have cruise ships that are themed for virtually everyone, and this includes eco-friendly people as well. Most cruise ship staff, or atleast officers, are educated to be more aware of the environment, what they are doing to harm it, and how to use simple techniques like reusing towels to help save the environment. So instead of just bashing cruise liners (like I have been doing for the past few weeks) we should think about what they are doing that's good for us, because they are doing a lot. The price they pay to offer this service to us, could be a lot higher, and they could give back a lot less than they do, but like every other working man/woman they need to work, and bring something to our economy, it just happens that what they do for society, has a bit more of a reaction to the environment.

To conclude, we cant judge too harshly on what they are doing, unless we, as individuals are doing everything we possibly can, to offset our own carbon footprint.

Cheers

What Are Cruise Liners Doing To Help?

Some cruise line companys are in fact trying to help the environment, despite all the postings in the past, Carnival Cruise Lines are storing their cooking oil and grease and use it in the future as an alternative fuel. As for old furniture that they can no longer use, they donate them to local organisations.

Holland America Lines requires an Environmental Officer on board each ship to oversee shipboard compliance with environmental laws and industry standards. They've also created a program to help preserve whales, which are hugely affected by the cruise industry.

Princess Cruise Lines has a zero solid waste discharge policy, with all solid waste incinerated onboard or ashore, raising the cruise line’s environmental standards.

There are other stories like these profiling various cruise liners and what they're doing, and it can be seen here.

Cheers

Cruise Ships and Smog

Have you ever been walking up a road, and a big truck passes you and as they accelerate, a big black smoke cloud appears from their mufler? Chances are, this truck is using diesel and you can see this smoke linger in the air for a moment before it floats away into the atmosphere or the wind blows it away for someone else to enjoy. Did you know that most cruise ships burn bunker fuel which is 1,000 times dirtier than diesel used in trucks, and they emit more carbon dioxide per passenger mile than train or airplanes (Friends of Earth, 2010).

To relate back to a previous post I've done on how much these cruise liners are paying for their pollution in terms of money and how this is being handled, I've come across an interesting report that states all the fines of cruise ships from 1992-2009.  In the report they state what the infraction was, how much they were fined, and what stage the fine and sentencing is in. This report can be found here.

So these companies are being charged, but it does seem to take awhile for them to get charged and go through the policies to get this done, but is the price that they're paying enough? In my opinion, not even close, not with the amount that they're polluting, and the amount that is going unnoticed.

Cheers