Big cruise ships pollute big time and can sail away from regulation
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/42514...ml?source=mypi
Cruising pumps dollars into Seattle and Washington state, $1.7 million into the local economy every time a ship docks in Seattle and about $16 million in state and local tax coffers annually.
But those benefits come at a price.
Money from the cruise industry -- which generates billions in profits every year -- trades on environmental health. The very attractions that draw tourists to Alaska-bound ships, such as pristine sanctuary waters, marine wildlife and mountainous seascapes, can be harmed by pollution from cruise ships.
The ships ply the waters of two states and two countries, moving among jurisdictions where rules are lax, voluntary or tough. It has proven easy enough for most ships to dump waste in Canada where rules aren't as strict.
In a single day, the federal Environmental Protection Agency estimates passengers aboard a typical cruise ship will generate:
21,000 gallons of sewage
1 ton of garbage
170,000 gallons of wastewater from sinks, showers and laundry
More than 25 pounds of batteries, fluorescent lights, medical wastes and expired chemicals (based on average fleet data from 1999 and 2000)
Up to 6,400 gallons of oily bilge water from engines
Four plastic bottles per passenger -- about 8,500 bottles per day for the Carnival Spirit
Cruise ships incinerate 75 to 85 percent of their garbage, the EPA found in a 2008 study.