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Super-Sized Cruise Ships Pose Larger Than Life Threats to the Environment

Luanne Bradley — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 19:40:56 +0000

How super-sized cruise ships add to the oil crisis.

Recent news that the 2,600 passenger Grand Princess cruise ship will be docked in San Francisco one year from now has unleashed a titanic blast of excitement. Naturally, the thrill of thousands of passengers and crew routinely disembarking at the pier is music to the ears of struggling retailers and restaurateurs. In the meantime, avid cruise fans enticed by dramatic discounts can sail from the Bay and save on airfare for voyages to Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico and the California coast.

“Having the ship sail under the Golden Gate Bridge and berth at the foot of Coit Tower will be spectacular, both for the guests on board and the people of San Francisco,” raves Monique Moyer, Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco.

The Oasis of the Seas

But critics of the supersized cruise ship trend are signaling foggy conditions ahead for accessing the country’s needs to keep its affluenza afloat. Habitual over consumption and the demand for cool aqua parks and live theaters on billion-dollar high rise vessels comes at a huge cost to both the environment and the widening schism between rich and poor. This, amid a growing discontent among the masses worldwide and a contagious occupy mentality. Will occupy the Grand Princess be next?

In terms of greenhouse gas elements, more energy arguably goes into making these ships than what they burn out of a smoke stack – the fabricating of steel, the welding and electronics racks up a stupendous energy and carbon bill – one under-reported by the industry.

Add to that the issue of how ships function, the need for massive diesel fuel and electricity at a time when the end of cheap fossil fuel is a reality – no longer dismissed as the rantings of extremists. An increasing number of thoughtful scientists and economists are writing about dwindling peak oil, skyrocketing prices for a gallon of gas and our dependency on an oil-based lifestyle.

“As steel gets harder to get and more people become aware of what we are doing to get fuel that remains, they will want to prioritize the use of oil out of necessity and use it for moving people around and getting food from where it grows to where it needs to be,” observes Bay Area conservationist, Win Lamar.

He figures resentment will grow if oil is used frivolously on non personal transportation for luxury excursions. “Ships are still for the one-percent elite and as long as resources and wealth go to the fewest, the anger will climax. Look at Syria, Italy, Greece and Spain. People are taking up arms in the street, normal looking people who look like you and me are smashing property in downtown Madrid and it’s only a matter of time before it starts here.”

The award-winning ‘Central Park’ aboard the Oasis

If the prediction is accurate, it will reach tall heights before it falls as witnessed in the fawning over the unparalleled grandeur of world’s largest cruise ship, the Grand Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas christened in 2009 and lovingly labeled a “floating nation” by the company.

How big is it? As the Daily Telegraph put it, “it’s so big that $75 million has been spent on tripling the size of the Port Everglades terminal at Fort Lauderdale where it sails, and new docks have been built around the Caribbean to berth it for Caribbean cruises.”

Costing $1.4 billion to build and able to carry 6,296 passengers at a time, the juggernaut epitomes excess with features such as its award -winning Boardwalk and Central Park. Carved out in the center of the ship, the public area with pathways mimics a city promenade with open air, lush plant life with canopy trees and seasonal gardens.

Stats show the mother of all ships has sold for roughly 41% more on the average than the rest of the company’s fleet with the least expensive rooms selling for 61% or more. And because of discounts introduced the past few years, cruising is on the rise, 13.4 million people shipping out in 2009 up from 12.6 in 2007, according to the Cruise Lines International Association.

Sure, the discounts cut into profits but the cruise lines are looking at a recovery on the horizon whether feasible or not.

Aqua Park on the Oasis luxury liner

All this means more fuel down the drain and more pollution emptied into the sea, despite stricter federal regulations and efforts on the parts of ships to go greener and clean up their acts. Ocean pollution watch group Oceania reports ships are more harmful to the environment than airplanes, generating up to 25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets and 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys and showers each day. Scariest of all, the waste is often dumped without treatment, sending bacteria, pathogens and heavy metals into our coastal environments.

Plastic in the sea from cruise ships poses harm to marine life

Some of the improvements being made are measurable and lauded as pioneering technologies while other steps amount to greenwashing by what is considered the fastest growing segment of tourism.

Crystal’s Go Green shore excursion, introduced last year has been criticized as a Band-Aid to cover a gaping wound. Passengers paying some $5,000 for the cruise can fork over another $95 for a day of doing good deeds in Malta such as planting trees on the island’s only national park, donating food to a charity and learning about growing practices at an organic farm.

According to the New York Times, Princess Cruises is trying cold ironing, plugging ships into electrical power at ports in San Francisco, Juneau, Alaska and Seattle. Norwegian introduced a recycling program in 2007 converting used cooking oil to bio diesel for farming equipment in Florida. Disney sponsors volunteer coastal cleanups to remove debris from shorelines and Holland America donates reusable linens, beds and dishes to charities. Others such as Carnival have an environmental officer aboard to monitor compliance with LED lighting, solar panels and other alternative energy strategies.

A cruise ship cold ironing at port in San Francisco

While travelers who must cruise are urged to do their due diligence in investigating large and small ships that are lowering their carbon energy bills, some conservationists argue the best message you can send is to find another way to explore.

“It is interesting times,” observes Lamar. “First we went as fast as possible galloping on horses or having animals pull a wagon and then trains sped things up and then oil was discovered and we had autos, airplanes and these giant ships, and now it’s all winding down with the end of cheap, easy oil. I think that’s a good thing for the planet.”

Image: Royal Caribbean

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13 (More!) Must-Read Books That Will Change How You See the World

Sarah Irani — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:00:08 +0000

It’s time to update your summer reading list with more must read books!

It’s been almost a year since I wrote the last “must read book list,” and a bunch of you readers responded by including must-read books of your own. I present you another compilation based on reader suggestions – and some of my own personal favorites.

Beyond Fossil Fools: The Roadmap to Energy Independence by 2040 by Joseph M. Shuster

If you’re on the fence about peak oil and the idea that we can “drill baby drill” our way to energy security, this book will be your wake-up call. The advice is practical, well-researched and very well-documented. It’s the kind of book you’d want everyone in Congress to read too, not to mention leaders all around the world.

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg

Until you read this book, you may not realize how the words you choose contribute to conflict. You think you’re explaining your feelings very clearly, but to the other person it sounds like an accusation. Nip misunderstandings in the bud, communicate more effectively and watch as you do a little soul searching to boot.

Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World by Alan Weisman

The ultimate intentional community that literally sprung out of nowhere. Deep in the impossibly barren savanna of Columbia, a community of brilliant, creative and visionary people (including scientists, artisans and ex-street kids) decided to do the unthinkable: create a self-sufficient village and invent the right technology (wind turbines, solar collectors and soil-free crop systems) to make it happen. If you hear anyone say “it just can’t be done,” give them a copy of Gaviotas and watch hope spring eternal.

Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce

Living a simple life – that sounds good, but what does it really look like? What does it mean to implement simplicity in a hectic and complicated world? Read the stories of over 200 people – urban and rural – who have done just that.

Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic by John de Graaf

Too much, too much, too much stuff, that’s what this culture is all about, and it’s making us sick. Affluenza is more than just overflowing landfills and obesity – it’s a deep spiritual illness and the root of many of the social problems we have in the world today.

Hope’s Edge by Frances Moore Lappe’

Author of 1971’s groundbreaking Diet for a Small Planet, Lappe’ again explores the issue of food, but in the contemporary global world of the 21st century. She explores the way food is grown and the way communities thrive – or fail – around the world. Lappe’ busts corporate myths, gets to the core of truth and gives practical advice (and vegetarian recipes!) for creating a wholesome life in a better world.

One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka

For the many among us who find gardening both a grounding and spiritual pursuit – and realizing that the two are not mutually exclusive – One Straw Revolution will likely improve your crop yields, lessen your work load and nudge you further along the road to inner peace. This is farming so radical, so simple and so passionate, you’ll be hard pressed to keep from creating an abundant patch of your very own.

Blessed Unrest: How The Largest Movement In The World Came Into Being & Why No One Saw It Coming by Paul Hawken

Word of mouth, grassroots and very likely Twittered, the (r)evolution is happening. With no leader, no headquarters and no media coverage, there still exists what can be called the largest gathering of people on Earth. And you’re very likely part of it.

A Reasonable Life: Toward a Simpler, Secure, More Humane Existence by Ferenc Mate

The author’s views might be radical, but someone has to say it. After all, if no one pushes the envelope, we might never change the status quo. Kind of like a smack upside the head to wake you up out of a bad dream – the American Dream.

The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost by Jean Liedloff

Perhaps it’s obvious to you that our culture has a big, gaping hole of unhappiness that we constantly stuff with material possessions (think Affluenza), but how did we get this way? Liedloff’s fascinating observations on child-rearing, both in the modern world and among tribal people of the Amazon, shines a bright light on the issue. How we treat our babies makes a huge difference in how they treat the rest of the world later on. This is the book that sparked the babywearing trend in the United States.

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann

Loss of tribal culture, overpopulation, the end of our excessively affluent petroleum-fueled lives; sounds like doom and gloom, but what next? This book presents the case passionately, then provides real options for future hope and change. But caveat emptor, the solution will require more than buying a Prius and switching to fluorescent lights – ultimately, we’ll need deep and systemic change. Think establishing communities, empowerment of women, turning off the television and reconnecting.

Sacred Commerce: Business as a Path of Awakening by Matthew & Terces Engelhart

Some people start a business simply to make money. Others want to provide valuable goods and services to the community. But have you heard of people starting a business as a way to move further along the spiritual path? The creators of Cafe Gratitude explain how this is possible – and even imperative – for the healthy future of commerce. Managers, this is your chance to create a quiet revolution in the workplace.

The Food Revolution : How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World by John Robbins

The title says it all. Whether you’re just beginning to understand the connection between diet and our environment at large, or if you need a well-documented resource to gather your own statistics and quotations, this is an essential book for the conscious eaters among us. Robbins, author of Diet for a New America, breaks down industry jargon and propaganda and presents the truth about what you eat, how you feel and how it all affects the world. Clear, concise and accessible.

Image: Lissalou66

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