By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
“Don’t let the vacation ruin the destination.”
These words of wisdom hail from environmentalists who have legitimate concerns about ocean pollution due to cruise ship dumping.
Cruise ship vacations have gained in popularity in the last decade, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, which states that the industry has grown nearly twice as fast as any other means of travel during that time frame. And, at the same time, the average ship size has been growing at about 90 feet every five years. Ships used to average about 3,000 passengers, but today some carry as many as 8,000.
So with larger ships carrying more passengers, there is mounting concern about how this growth will affect the ocean’s marine life and water quality.
Recently the World Wildlife Federation’s Baltic Sea chapter recommended that area ports upgrade their facilities to cope with contamination from cruise ship sewage. The WWF said that Baltic-area ports are not keeping their facilities up-to-date in terms of disposing of cruise ship waste and suggested that the money being made by cruise ship tourism be spent upgrading the facilities, according to a report in the Environmental News Service.
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Beach Bummer, NRDC Report Finds Pollution Worse On Some US Beaches
By Barbara Kessler
Before dunking yourself in the ocean for a last summer hurrah, you may want to check out the NRDC’s latest report on the state of the nation’s beaches. It found that the number of closings and advisory days along U.S. freshwater and ocean coasts was at the second highest level in 18 years of tracking, mainly due to increased pollution along the Mid-Atlantic region and Great Lakes waters.
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Tags: · beaches, pollution, runoff, Sewage
E-Fuel: A Coal Substitute Made from Sewage
By John DeFore
Its name, SlurryCarb, may be nauseating, and the procedure itself mightn’t be something you’d want to see first-hand. But a new process touted by Atlanta company EnerTech may be part of the answer to the world’s energy woes, while also disposing of sewage.
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Tags: · Alternative Fuel, E-Fuel, EnerTech, Sewage
Terrabon, unlike ethanol producers, will make its fuel, called MixAlco, from sewage, human solid waste and organic food garbage, not food stock. And it’s output will be a virtual chemical match (but at a higher octane) for the stuff that’s already powering your car or truck, not a gasoline additive. This key difference means that the Terrabon fuel can be added directly to the existing gasoline fuel stream, a convenience that the company is promoting as an easy, green way to reduce US reliance on foreign oil.