SIGN NOW: Stop toxic cruise pollution from poisoning innocent sea otters and destroying our oceans!

Cruise pollution is wreaking havoc on our environment, causing irreparable harm to our ecosystems, and threatening our planet and all its living beings.

Due to weak and inconsistent regulations, cruise ships are dumping HAZARDOUS WASTE — often highly acidic and containing bacteria, viruses, and toxic pollutants – directly into our fragile oceans. The result can be oxygen-depleting algae blooms that destroy marine ecosystems and the human livelihoods that rely on them.

On top of putting already-vulnerable marine life like sea otters and orcas in danger, the greenhouse gasses and chemical emissions released by massive cruise vessels are being released into our fragile atmosphere and contributing to the global climate crisis.

And all of that hazardous noise, water, and air pollution also poses serious human health risks to passengers, crew, and nearby coastal communities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must step up immediately and intervene by strengthening federal regulations and oversight of toxic cruise industry pollution before more irreparable ecological damage is done. Can we count on you to join us today in the fight against Big Cruise’s toxic pollution by adding your name to our petition right now?

Comments

Dear EPA Administrator Regan,

Over the years, cruise companies have polluted our air, water, and climate -- much of this pollution is legal, but cruise companies are also responsible for significant illegal pollution. In 2020, the cruise industry was thrust into the spotlight for knowingly putting public health at risk from COVID-19. Thousands of people contracted the virus while on cruise ships, and hundreds died. The cruise industry has repeatedly made choices that put the health of people and the planet at risk.

Marine life like sea otters are at serious risk. The cruise industry is dumping its exhaust gas scrubber wastewater into the marine waters where many species live. This practice is exacerbating the threats to vulnerable species like sea otters. Gigantic cruise ships the size of city blocks are dumping toxic waste into sensitive sea otter habitats. This leads to illness, stress, and population decline in these beloved and playful creatures.

Scrubbers were supposed to be one of the solutions to clean up the cruise industry’s dirty smokestacks. Instead, these scrubbers merely convert the industry’s dirty air pollution into toxic water pollution. Most scrubbers used by the cruise industry are open-loop and emit acidic wastewater that is warmer than ambient seawater. It contains heavy metals, PAHs, particulate matter, and nitrates, all of which are very harmful to the marine environment and the marine creatures that inhabit it. All of our oceans are at risk from the cruise industry’s polluting emissions, and they need to stop immediately.

The world’s largest cruise company -- Carnival Corporation -- was on criminal probation for five years as part of a record-setting $40 million fine and plea agreement for illegally dumping oily waste into the ocean for nearly a decade, as well as obstruction of justice for hiding its criminal activities from regulators. Carnival was allowed to restart cruising in the US in 2021 despite its continued and ongoing pollution during its probation. Without this prosecution, we would likely have no knowledge of Carnival’s ongoing environmental crimes. To properly monitor and enforce environmental and public health laws on cruise ships, we need independent federal observers for all large cruise ships in the US.

I am calling on you to protect public health and the environment. Please commit to addressing the negative impacts the cruise industry has on passengers, crew, communities, oceans, and marine wildlife through improved and increased regulation and oversight of the industry.

Sincerely,

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