January 22, 2008
Cruise Ships Worse For Environment Than Planes
Cruise ships emit three times more CO2 than airplanes, reports the Telegraph. In its annual report, Carnival, which comprises 11 cruise lines, said it emits 401 grams of CO2 per passenger, which this article claims is 36 times greater than the per passenger emission of Eurostar and more than three times that for a Boeing 747 passenger. The Passenger Shipping Association said that a ferry, on average, releases 120 grams of CO2 per passenger.
But Bill Gibbons, director of PSA, said, “The cruise ship also uses energy for laundry, restaurants, theater” and other things more than mere transport whereas “a lot of CO2 emissions involved in flying-from food preparation to waste treatment-aren’t counted in airlines’ figures.”
But Justin Francis of Responsibletravel.com, a group that offers a directory that minimizes environmental damage, said, “Some cruises involve a flight to the departure destination, something of a double carbon whammy.” In addition, Our Planet magazine says that a cruise ship passenger accounts for 3.5 kilograms of trash daily, compared to 0.8 kilograms generated by local people on shore.
Cruise ships contend they are working hard to lessen their environmental impact. Royal Caribbean said it had installed advanced water purification systems on board and smokeless gas-turbine engines and that it also burns bio-fuel when available.
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Reader Comments
Suddenly taking that summer cruise seems even more likely. If not to relax, just to piss off the environmentalists who would rather see us driving horse and buggy and living in huts.
Steve | February 21st, 2009
No, but thanks to us, you can now go suck an organic, free-range egg……
Michelle | May 19th, 2009
401 grams per passenger… per day? per cruise? A cruise lasts about 2 weeks, and it’s not just to GET to your vacation, it IS the vacation. You can’t compare it to ferries or air travel for God’s sake! However, if it is per day, it’s surprisingly much. If you believe CO2 is dangerous that is…
Hal | January 13th, 2010