When one thinks of cruise ships, one thinks of grand luxury, solitude, safety, and big. The January 13 capsizing of the Concordia off the coast of Italy, in which at least 11 people died, caught the world — including the cruise ship industry and its passengers — off guard and is shining a spotlight on cruise ship safety and environmental issues. The cruise ship hit (more…)

It must be pretty damaging for any industry’s reputation to be labeled Dinosaur of the Year. And that’s what the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has called the cruise ship industry. NABU, which is based in Germany, singled out cruise lines AIDA and TUI to get their yearly trophy, which goes to people or companies with “the most ridiculous statement or (more…)

Plugging in an electric car is very well and environmentally good, but what about the emissions reductions of connecting a large yacht or even an entire cruise ship to the grid? Currently, ships must burn fuel to maintain onboard systems, even at port. Linking just one cruise ship at port to the electricity grid could (more…)

The shipping industry has become the first global business sector to agree to mandatory carbon dioxide emissions reductions.

At a meeting of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization, member countries agreed to set CO2 emissions standards on new ships beginning in 2019, with the goal of improving energy (more…)

The development of green transportation on the sea is a fairly interesting one when one takes a moment to look at it. The earliest methods of sailing were accomplished using “green” technology in the form of sails that caught the wind, while many of today’s designs are focused on using the sun or alternative fuels to achieve (more…)

Two California seaports are testing a technology that uses seawater to scrub emissions from the exhaust of ships, an innovation researchers say could reduce a vessel’s sulfur emissions by 99.9 percent and particulate matter by as much as 85 percent.

Proponents say the advanced emission (more…)

Green transportation as a whole covers a wide range of transportation concepts. Green vehicles powered by electricity or hydrogen take much of the media’s focus while others prefer to look at the changes being made to public transit around the globe. The changes to the aviation industry have also taken a great deal of attention in (more…)

Carbon emissions at sea have received more attention over the last decade. Ports, especially, can have a negative impact on air quality in the populated areas that surround them. The many emissions sources at ports include ships, trucks, trains, and cargo-handling equipment. Harbor-crafts also contribute a significant portion of total port emissions. These include (more…)

We’ve all heard the “recycle, reduce, reuse” mantra.  However, to really combat the current problem of overconsumption and reduce unnecessary waste, this saying should be flipped on its head: “reduce, reuse, recycle.”  Recycling is reactive, and society needs to combine it with a proactive solution, because recycling alone will not “fix” our current consumption problem.  The first step should be reducing (more…)

The Plastiki, a sailing boat made out of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled waste products, has been sailing in the Pacific Ocean for more than 30 days.

Plastiki started its journey March 20 from San Francisco, with the intention to create public awareness about the effects of plastic usage on marine pollution and consequently sea life.

The Plastiki crew aims to explore a number of environmental hotspots, such as soon-to-be-flooded island nations, damaged coral reefs and the challenge faced by acidifying oceans and marine debris, in particular plastic pollution.

Plastiki’s journey is also scheduled to go through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a zone of trash one suspended on the water’s surface, twice the size of Texas, and stretching from the shores of California to the Sea of Japan.

The boat crew consists of six scientists, environmentalists and artists, led by the British adventurer David de Rothschild. The 60-foot boat is sailing with an average speed of five nautical miles per hour and the voyage is set end in Sydney in about three months. (more…)