Task 1

Read the extract 'Cruise ship waste streams' from the Bluewater report. Work in groups (of approximately three) to discuss the following and produce a short presentation with your answers:

Not the most inviting of signs for those that enjoy water based sports! What is the best solution to such problems? Copyright: Gary Cowles, stock.xchng

1. Why can this be viewed as an economic as well as an environmental problem?
2. What economic concepts are important in bringing an understanding to this problem?

Cruise Ship Waste Streams

'Vessel sewage is more concentrated than domestic sewage because people on vessels use less volumes of water for sanitary purposes than do people on land. The discharge of sewage from vessels into the water contributes to the degradation of the marine environment by introducing disease-causing micro-organisms and excessive nutrients. For example, sewage releases into the marine environment can endanger public health if discharged in the vicinity of shellfish beds. Shellfish and other filter feeders concentrate pathogens in their tissues, causing them to be unsafe for human consumption.

Sewage-borne pathogens are also harmful to corals, causing disease and scarring in many species. Nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, promote excessive algal growth, which consumes oxygen in the water and leads to fish kills. Excessive algal growth also smothers and kills coral reefs. Eutrophication, or over-enrichment of nutrients, is also a cause of the loss of diversity in the sea floor community (including seaweeds, seagrasses, and corals), and among planktonic organisms.

Planktonic algae are the basis of marine food webs and a change in the dominant species can have a domino effect throughout the food web. Sewage discharged from vessels can also be visually repulsive and decreases the use of water bodies for contact sports, such as swimming, water skiing, snorkeling, scuba diving and surfing. In addition, chemicals and deodorizers used in many marine sanitation devices (MSDs) can contain chlorine, quaternary ammonia, or formaldehyde, all harmful to aquatic life.'

Task 2

Read the short extract 'Violations of environmental laws' from the Bluewater report to read and consider the following:

1. What are the problems identified with the policy being used to control pollution?
2. Do the problems stem from generic difficulties with this policy approach that will apply in other applications or are they specific to this case?
3. From an economic viewpoint, should the dumping of greywater be banned everywhere?

Violations of Environmental Laws

The increasing use of the sea for all sorts of economic activities means that the potential for waste products entering the sea, including human waste, is increasing. How do we put in place incentives to change behaviour to reduce the risk that such pollution creates? Copyright: Falk Schaaf, stock.xchng

'The cruise industry's repeated violation of environmental laws is a matter of grave concern. In a particularly disturbing case, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd admitted to routinely dumping waste oil from several of its ships, and deliberately dumping hazardous chemicals from photo processing labs, dry cleaning operations and print shops into several US harbors and coastal areas over a period of several years. Ships were rigged with secret piping systems to bypass pollution treatment equipment. Investigators said the company's violations were so unscrupulous that they characterized the case as a "fleet-wide conspiracy" by Royal Caribbean to "use our nation's waterways as its dumping ground," and so pervasive that the criminal conduct amounted to a routine business practice. The company pleaded guilty to a total of 21 felony counts in six US jurisdictions, and agreed to pay a record $18 million in criminal fines.'

'There are numerous regulatory loopholes and gaps in environmental laws that should be controlling pollution by cruise ships. Several types of cruise ship discharges are exempt from key regulations governing other wastewater dischargers.

Greywater can legally be dumped anywhere except the Great Lakes, even though the EPA has found that greywater has the potential to cause adverse environmental effects. With regard to hazardous waste, there is little information available on the quantities and types of hazardous wastes generated on cruise ships, and little clarity, on the part of both environmental agencies and the cruise industry, on what laws do and do not apply to the management and disposal of these wastes.'

The increasing pollution of rivers and seas can lead to the death of marine wildlife and also dangerous concentrations of chemicals in seafood products that humans consume.
Copyright: Phillip Jackson, stock.xchng