“Humans have succeeded extravagantly at the expense of other species.”

Cruise ships provide us with an opportunity to see places otherwise out of reach for the average person.  They are cruises for families, seniors, gays, jazz lovers and more.  I prefer long boats that sail rivers with a view of the shore.  Recently I made an exception boarded a cruise ship with Barbara to sail around the south coast of Spain.  Stops were planned for ports from Sevilla to Barcelona.

When I arrived at my stateroom six plastic bottles of water were neatly stacked on a shelf.  When I left the ship for shore excursions I was encouraged to take bottled water with me.  Cruise ships are noted for their hospitality, and everyone knows it’s important to stay hydrated, so this was a nice touch.  Cruise ships are also noted for food.  From buffets to lounge bars and poolside cafes to fine dining restaurants, every food option is available.  At each meal or snack, beer, wine and soft-drinks are available in a bottle.

Ever the environmentalist, I got to wondering what they did with all the empty containers.  With cruise ships now transporting the population of small towns, the waste is enormous.  I would be troubled to find that my desire to travel was adding to the pollution that was igniting global temperatures.

How much pollution and waste?  Our ship, the Pursuit by Azamara, sailed with 664 passengers and a crew of over 300.  The Icon, by Royal Caribbean, carries 10000 passengers plus crew.  It releases four times the amount of CO2 into the atmosphere per person than flying and staying in a four-star hotel.  One cruise ship can release as much CO2 as a million cars.  One study revealed that the 218 cruise ships in Europe released four times more sulfur oxide than all of the cars in Europe.  Cruise ships comprise only 1% of the world’s fleet, but they create 25% of the waste in the ocean.  This is huge problem for a world needing to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

I dialed the front desk and was pleased to discover that an Environmental Officer is now required on cruise ships in Europe.  Duarte, an articulate man of Polish descent in his fifties, was happy to meet with me and show me what they did with all those plastic and glass bottles.  I was pleased to find that the captain can lose his license for failing to abide by the environmental regulations so the captain listens to the Environmental Officer.  Duarte also said that regulations in Europe are much stricter than those in the United States.

So, what becomes of the thousands of containers that would otherwise clog landfills and end up in our air, water and soil?  Duarte took us to a room below deck where they are smash them into pieces or crush them flat.  All of the glass bottles used on the Pursuit in one week can be crushed into boxes that make up only 3-4 cubic feet.  The plastic bottles are squished into a box the size of 1 ½ cubic feet.  They are off loaded at each port in recyclable cardboard boxes.  From there they can be sent to recycling facilities by the local port officials.  Food wastes are finely chopped and discarded, at least, 12 miles from shore.  Human waste is processed by non-aerobic digesters and treated before being discharged.  All of this is good, but not standard practice by all cruise ships.

We flew to Europe.  Airplanes are responsible for 9% of carbon emissions but far less than cruise ships.  Although cruising for 7 days is three times more carbon intensive than flying and staying in a hotel, there is good news.  By 2030 European cruise ships will be required to hook up to electric outlets when in port to reduce emissions from diesel fuels and Liquid Natural Gas that is often used while at sea.  The Pursuit burns low sulfur oil inside 12 miles from port and heavy oil outside, but it recycles the exhaust to heat boilers to keep carbon emissions to a minimum.  In the works are fuel cells and battery propulsion.

Railroads emit 80% less carbon emissions than truck and ships.  Although I drive an electric car, we took the train to and from my home in Boynton Beach to the Miami Airport.  In Portugal the train took us from Porto to Lisbon, in comfort, where we boarded the Pursuit.

Next time you plan a trip think about your carbon footprint and leave the old gas guzzler in the garage.