DIRTY WATER exposes how even the newest cruise ships lack state-of-the-art environmental mitigation systems. The two-part series exposes a cruise industry dependent on lax federal oversight and more interested in putting profits into PR and lobbying and campaign contributions instead of installing new technologies that could mitigate some of its negative environmental impact.
DCBureau reporter David Rosenfeld reveals that the cruise industry touts untouched ocean scenery while beneath the surface cruise ships leave a wake of toxic sewage and other harmful pollutants that threaten marine life and human health. The cost-effective and preferred method of discharging sewage into the ocean requires a high-grade retrofit that costs $10 million. Yet the largest cruise companies choose not to spend the money to equip dozens of ships with the latest technology even as they make huge profits. Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company, in the down 2009 economy made $1.3 billion in one quarter alone.
