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Don’t cruise with the criminal Carnival
Don’t cruise with the criminal Carnival

Carnival companies — Princess Cruise Lines, Holland America, Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard, Costa, and 4 others — are key polluters of our oceans and definitely not role models for other cruise lines like they claim to be.

It’s not deja vu. Congress really is trying to pass another failing industrial ocean fish farm bill.
It’s not deja vu. Congress really is trying to pass another failing industrial ocean fish farm bill.

We can continue to feed the global population without further industrializing our oceans by utilizing recirculating systems and through sustainable wild-capture fishing, agroecological shellfish, and plant mariculture in the open ocean.

Proposed senate bill would turn oceans into fish feedlots
Proposed senate bill would turn oceans into fish feedlots

The Trump Administration is making a huge push to bring destructive and polluting industrial ocean fish farming to U.S. waters.

The foreseeable end of vessel heavy fuel oil use in the Arctic
The foreseeable end of vessel heavy fuel oil use in the Arctic

The threat posed by heavy fuel oil in the Arctic is substantial. In fragile, ice-covered marine environments, use of this fuel by ships is a disaster waiting to happen.

Harmony of the Seas launch inconsistent with Royal Caribbean’s commitment to sustainability
Harmony of the Seas launch inconsistent with Royal Caribbean’s commitment to sustainability

At 226 thousand metric tons, accommodating 6,780 guests and 2,100 crew, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines' new Harmony of the Seas is a gargantuan fuel-gobbling monster.

Arctic shipping policy: What’s wrong with this picture
Arctic shipping policy: What’s wrong with this picture

Often we hear much talk about balancing economic and environmental concerns, and this idea -- which has widespread support -- is referred to as sustainable development. One of the places on earth where there has been substantial discussion of sustainable development is the Arctic. This is because the region contains abundant natural resources, such as oil, gas and minerals, that companies and governments are seeking to exploit. The region, as well, is seeing increasing amounts…

Rally Tally: Over 2 million say NO to new offshore drilling
Rally Tally: Over 2 million say NO to new offshore drilling

Yesterday, Friends of the Earth was joined at the White House by over a dozen other environmental groups and grassroots community leaders to deliver over 2 million petitions to President Obama that call for no new offshore drilling.

Here’s what’s going on: last year the Obama administration released a draft five-year offshore drilling program for 2017-2022 that proposes 10 new sales of publicly owned oil and gas to fossil fuel empires like BP, Exxon and Shell. The draft…

Its not only sewage you have to worry about
Its not only sewage you have to worry about

Pro Publica’s “Cruise Control” reveals crimes, deaths and emerging infectious diseases 

Friends of the Earth issues an annual report card, grading the environmental aspects of cruise ships including sewage treatment, air pollution reduction, and water quality compliance. Pro Publica addresses a different facet of the cruise industry, which is just as disturbing. “Cruise Control,” an illustrative and interactive publication, opens with a “tour” of an archetypal cruise ship.

The tour commences in the…

Back off, Alaskan energy group tells Shell activists

With pressure building on Shell's port activity in Seattle, an Alaskan energy coalition said the state's economy won't be held hostage by external activists.

Back off, Alaskan energy group tells Shell activists

-UPI 6/3/2015

The New Santa Barbara Oil Spill Is a Reminder of How Little Weve Learned

The latest accident highlights the inherent risks of transporting oil through sensitive environments.

For Santa Barbara residents, the recurring scene involving blackened beaches, slick-sheened waters, and muck-covered wildlife isn’t a case of déjà vu—it just feels like it.

On Tuesday, a report indicated that anywhere from 21,000 gallons to 105,000 gallons of crude oil had gushed onto the beaches just northwest of the famously scenic seaside town—made infamous by a 1969 offshore oil blowout that saw…