Activists living in port areas around the globe that have actually been battling the cruise ship sector for their right to tidy air and also healthy and balanced seas will certainly hold a first-of-its-kind online “Rally to Clean Up Cruising”, Monday, June 8, throughout World Oceans Day.
Speakers from Nassau, Bahamas; Juneau and also Hoonah, Alaska; Venice, Italy; Rockland, Maine; Bergen, Norway; Gold Coast, Australia; and also Southampton, UK will certainly sign up with the Clean Up Carnival union to decry the cruise ship sector’s pollution-as-usual methods of placing earnings over individuals. The teams are requiring the cruise ship sector to switch over to cleaner gas, end sea disposing, and also take on solid environment targets prior to travelers start future cruise ships after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
The online rally, which occurs on Zoom (11 a.m. Alaska/ 3 p.m. New York/ 8 p.m. London/ 9 p.m. Venice– and also 5 a.m. Sydney on June 9th) supplies an one-of-a-kind chance for the general public to listen to straight from port areas around the globe concerning the cumulative toll the cruise ship sector handles our air– and also hence our public health and wellness– our seas, and also the environment.
Representation Image Credit: Twitter– @OceanCouncil
“Tourists love Glacier Bay National Park, and the U.S grants cruise companies over 200 permits annually. Glacier Bay is the Tlingit people’s ancestral homeland for over 14,000 years, but to accommodate the massive cruise industry, we are banned from entering our homeland — an injustice that hurts us still today. As the numbers of cruise ships increase, we have become faceless and voiceless,” stated Kashudoha Wanda Loescher Culp of the Tlingit individuals of Hoonah, Alaska.
“Imagine a country whose GNP is dwarfed by the profits of industry that has perfected its pollution and exploitation of our waters, our tourism economy, and our cultural identity. The ‘private island’ model of cruise tourism is a modern-day blitzkrieg unfolding in the Bahamas, and it is covered up by glossy photos of happy cruisers romping through previously pristine environments re-engineered into grotesque theme parks,” stated Sam Duncombe of Nassau, Bahamas.
“Juneau was once part of a vibrant Alaska tourism industry of independent travelers and group tours. Visitors slept in our towns, ate in our restaurants, and interacted with locals. Then the cancer of the modern cruise industry began. It slowly destroyed the independent tourism industry, overwhelming our communities, crippling our friendly welcomes, infecting our towns, dumping waste in our water, and polluting our air,” stated Karla Hart of Juneau, Alaska.
“I have heard many stories of what life is like for workers on cruise ships. For many, it is a floating hell. One crew member told me he had not been outside in fresh air in a month. These wages and working conditions are possible because cruise ship companies intentionally register their ships in countries with weak labor laws, allowing them to exploit workers,” stated Klaus Gjukastein of Bergen, Norway.
“The port and cruise industry are thought to contribute up to 23% of Southampton’s air pollution. I have grown used to seeing patients with respiratory disease not fully explained by traditional risk factors, and I am deeply frustrated with the paucity of data on shipping emissions and the lack of awareness about the importance of air quality and health. My patients should not pay the price for someone else’s leisure,” statedDr Christelle Blunden of Southampton, UK.
“Cruise ships pose a massive existential threat to Venice’s future. Aside from the pollution and energy intensity associated with these ships, which exacerbate climate change, last June we witnessed the horrifying drama of the MSC Opera crashing into the city. As the industry grows and the number and size of ships increases, so does the environmental, economic and social damage that they cause,” stated Jane da Mosto of Venice, Italy.
“Since 1986, the cruise industry has tried to weasel their way into our community. And since 1986, we have successfully blocked them. To all those port communities fighting to keep cruise ships out, I encourage you: never quit. You have more power than you know. If you organize, if you strategize, if you empower your community by arming them with facts, if you tell your story about the place you love — you will win,” stated Steven Gration of Gold Coast, Australia.
During the online rally, lobbyists will certainly provide a request authorized by 47,000 individuals to Carnival Corporation, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean and also MSC with a checklist of needs for the cruise ship sector. Cruise execs from the business were welcomed to go to the online rally and also approve the petition., yet no business approved the invite.
The online rally is arranged by the Clean Up Carnival union, a global partnership of companies concentrated on tidying up the cruise ship sector, and alsoStand planet, an ecological company that projects to finish using hefty gas oil, end sea disposing, and also safe solid environment dedications from the cruise ship field.
The Clean Up Carnival union additionally released a full-page “open letter to cruise giants” advertisement in the Sunday version of the Miami Herald and also an op-ed on World Oceans Day will certainly show up in the Monday version of the paper.
“COVID-19 thrust the cruise industry into the global spotlight, exposing the horrors below the shiny surface of this sector’s business practices. The failure of cruise companies to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic echoes a decades-long history of putting profits over people and our planet. It’s time for the cruise industry to start listening to the concerns of port communities, who are most impacted by their unscrupulous business practices. A return to pollution-as-usual is not an option,” stated Kendra Ulrich, Shipping Campaigns Director forStand planet.
“The cruise industry’s culture of putting profits over people is what led to its public health crisis during the coronavirus pandemic. Cruise lines are largely failing when it comes to air and water pollution reduction. Excess pollution from these ships can cause serious health problems, destroy habitats, and exacerbate climate change. The cruise industry must set a course for a better future, by improving environmental, community, and public health practices in port communities and in our oceans,” stated Marcie Keever, Oceans & & Vessels Program Director at Friends of the Earth United States.
“If cruise giants are serious about staying in business, on a liveable planet, they need to get their ships off fossil fuels and step up to communities’ demands. This includes protecting the health of customers, crewmembers, and the planet by rapidly switching to the cleanest fuels currently available, ending the dumping of waste in our oceans, and adopting climate targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C pathway,” stated Madeline Rose, Climate Campaign Director, Pacific Environment
