Cruise ships and environment pollution: which shipping companies fight for sustainability

Major shipping companies strive to find a balance between respect for the environment and what is economically viable.

A series of proudly announced new ocean liners promise to protect the sea, the air and the climate. Is it possible to make the dream of enjoying a cruise vacation without worrying about the environment come true?

Major shipping companies strive to find a balance between respect for the environment and what is economically viable. A series of proudly announced new ocean liners promise to protect the sea, the air and the climate. Is it possible to make the dream of enjoying a cruise vacation without worrying about the environment come true?

The new generations of ships at least reduce their harmful emissions, for example, through an energy efficient combination of fossil fuels with a battery system or fuel cells. Many details in the design of the ship and the operation on board improve the climatic balance. Sönke Diesener of the German Union for Nature and Biodiversity Conservation (NABU) speaks of "promising solutions".

Some shipping companies have optimized their fleets. "But cruise vacations are still not environmentally friendly," says NABU's head of environmental and transport policy. Highly polluting heavy fuel oil continues to dominate the world's oceans.

Heavy fuel oil powered engines damage the environment with emissions of sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter and soot, and contribute to the climate crisis with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Lower emitting fuels, such as marine gas oils, are more expensive and emit slightly less CO2.

Even the least polluting LNG or liquefied natural gas, which is seen as a transition solution for cruise ships aiming to reduce environmental impact, only achieves a CO2 reduction of around 20 percent. And it also has drawbacks, as Katharina Koppe of the German Environment Agency explains: "During production, transport and operation, climate-damaging methane escapes into the atmosphere, reducing the CO2 advantage and makes the climate balance, in some cases, even worse than that of ships with marine diesel".

Some shipping companies comply with the regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations body responsible for maritime transport, equipping their ships with gas washing systems or "scrubbers", which, however, increase energy consumption. In addition, contaminated wash waters are often disposed of in the sea.

German cruise operator Tui Cruises says that thanks to scrubbers, nitrogen oxide catalytic converters and soot particulate filters, six ships in its fleet emit up to 99 percent less sulfur, 75 less less nitrogen oxide and 60 percent less harmful particles. The company also ensures that the waste is properly disposed of on land.

TUI's goals are ambitious. By 2030, the first ships in its fleet will be completely climate-neutral, Tui Cruises CEO Wybcke Meier recently told the German newspaper "Tagesspiegel". According to Meier, however, there is a big unknown: the sufficient availability of biofuels.

The German cruise line Aida Cruises bets mainly on fossil LNG, which could one day be replaced by synthetic or biogenic fuel. Other German companies, such as Hapag Lloyd or Plantours, sail with marine gas oil.

Grid power from renewable sources is now seen as a ray of hope. The possibility of connecting the ships to the port's electrical network will help reduce emissions and reduce noise and vibrations.

"Environmentally produced grid energy will be very important in the green energy mix of cruise travel," says German professor Harald Zeiss, who specializes in sustainability and tourism.

However, while nearly half of all ships will soon be able to have shore power or can quickly adapt to it, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), so far there are only 14 ports worldwide with corresponding connections. Among them are Germans from Hamburg, Kiel and Rostock-Warnemünde, as well as Bergen and Trondheim in Norway and Southampton in England.

Rerouting and efficient driving aided by sophisticated software, as well as exterior coatings to reduce aerodynamic drag, can help reduce fuel consumption. In addition, there are new innocuous techniques to avoid the encrustation of marine vegetation and fauna in the cooling system. In the management of hotels, which consume up to 50 percent of the ship's energy, changes are also being introduced.

"Some ocean giants have better waste disposal and sewage treatment systems than a small municipality," says NABU consultant Diesener. Details such as biodegradable cleaning and care products, optimization of air conditioning systems or recovery of braking energy from elevators and green and fair shore excursions are other steps towards greater environmental protection and sustainability. .

Norway is currently considered a pioneer country on the path to climate-friendly shipping. The ships on the Hurtigruten commuter express line run on marine diesel, which is blended with up to 20 percent biodiesel from food waste.

By 2030, the shipping company wants to be able to offer emission-free cruises. New competitor on the so-called "fast lane", Havila Kystruten, is betting on computer-controlled energy management of its combined LNG and battery system. The boats can run in purely electric mode for up to four hours.

In international waters, ships are authorized to navigate with heavy fuel oil. In coastal areas and in special areas designated by the IMO as Emission Control Areas (ECZs), stricter regulations apply regarding the emission of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. These include the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, the coasts of the United States and Canada, including the waters surrounding Hawaii and the American Caribbean, some areas of China and, in general, all ports of the European Union.

In the Antarctic and, in the future, in the Arctic, ships cannot carry heavy fuel oil on board as a precautionary measure.

German cruise journalist Franz Neumeier suggests "short cruises in the vicinity and arriving by train" as an environmentally friendly option for tourists. In fact, long flights considerably worsen the CO2 footprint of the holidays.

Cruise passengers can voluntarily offset the CO2 with an additional sum of money and thus balance at least the greenhouse gases emitted per head during the trip.

Read More

Recycle diapers to create energy, fertilizer and new materials

The "Happy Nappy" program of the French company Suez Environnement, recently launched, aims to make use of the thousands of used diapers that babies generate every year. Thanks to various treatments could be achieved to generate energy, fertilizer for plants and new materials from reused plastic.

Each baby needs about 6,000 diapers in its first 24 months of life, which means every year, in our country, hundreds of thousands of dirty diapers are thrown away. What if we could recycle them? It is precisely what this French company is carrying out through its subsidiary Sita.

The first thing to analyze is the composition of the diaper used. Of the total, most (between 50 and 70 percent) are organic waste, followed by plastics and fibers with between 10 and 20 percent and finally the absorbent polymers, which represent between 5 and 10 percent of the total.

For its recycling the first thing that is done is the crushing to separate the different parts, to later treat them independently.

Once separated each material receives a treatment. The organic waste goes to a purification system and sludge that will produce biogas and fertilizers for future use in agriculture. For its part, plastics would function as the raw material for the manufacture of new compounds.

As explained by Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of Suez Environnement, "the creation and positive results of this pilot project perfectly illustrate the synergies that exist between garbage and the water business, and how our technologies and capabilities can lead to creation of a new waste valorization scheme ".

Read More

Tests for a fiber package dedicated to precooked meals

The world is facing a steady increase in the consumption of precooked dishes. Beyond the consequences of this "diet" for human health, the packaging of such meals is very harmful to the environment. The black plastic used in pre-cooked packaging generates enormous problems of waste management since the lasers that process the waste to be recycled can not easily identify what type of material it is.

Consumers and producers, concerned about the impact of this type of packaging, agree to use more sustainable materials. The supermarkets have also agreed to gradually eliminate this type of packaging, a task in which a team of researchers and scientists financed by European funds will work.

A new tray designed by the Finnish container manufacturer Huhtamaki offers a viable alternative to black plastic. Developed in collaboration with the partners of the FRESH, Södra and SaladWorks project, the product is part of an effort to sell biological packaging for ready meals in the UK market.

The company tested its fiber-based packaging in May and June in two pre-cooked dishes of Italian cuisine. "We are confident that the new proposal will be well received and that it will be a turning point for the adoption of biological packaging in this segment," said Steve Davey de Huhtamaki in an article in the magazine "Packaging Europe". Recognizing the need for alternatives based on renewable materials, Huhtamaki is confident that the tests will lead to the adoption of biological packaging in this segment.

In a notice published on the website of the Finnish company it is explained that the new material has the texture of the board and is created with fiber derived from sources certified by the Forest Management Council. Created in 1993, this council works to ensure that forests around the world are managed in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.

Developed by Södra, partner of FRESH, this renewable material is called Durapulp and is a biocomposite based on a mixture of cellulose and polylactic acid (PLA) that does not include genetically modified organisms in its raw material. "It is a renewable and adequate alternative for storing sensitive products such as food," said Catrin Gustavsson, Senior Vice President of Innovation and New Business Opportunities in Södra.

The FRESH project (FRESH - Fully bio based and bio degradable ready meal packaging), which will last three and a half years until 2020, aims to generate innovative alternatives based on high quality cellulose to the trays of plastics derived from fossil fuels through a new lamination technology. The objectives of the project are to achieve a much lower environmental footprint (a CO2 reduction of more than 80%) during the life cycle of the project compared to other packaging materials based on fossil fuels. Its general objective is to offer a complete value chain, from the production of materials to the end user, in which the technical and economic feasibility of an alternative to the containers for pre-cooked meals is fully biological and biodegradable.

The final product of FRESH could offer important environmental, economic and even job creation advantages. It would also demonstrate that it is an element of change for the distributors, the catering companies -for example, airlines and home food services for the elderly- and missions in remote areas that cover both civilian and military needs.

Read More

What is responsible or sustainable tourism

Sustainable tourism is one that is committed to having a low impact on the environment and local culture. According to the World Tourism Organization, it is defined as "that fully takes into account the current and future economic, social and environmental impacts to meet the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and the host communities."

For some years, an accrediting body linked to UNESCO and called the Global Council of Sustainable Tourism has awarded the "Biosphere World Class Destination" certificate, which recognizes companies, destinations, products and tourist establishments that have made sustainable tourism the central axis of Your activities. Barcelona was the first urban destination in the world to obtain this certification in 2011.

In Europe, according to a recent report from Voyageprive.com, Spain offers 50% of the offer of all the ecological tourist destinations of the continent.

Read More

Videogames to learn history, economics and environment

Current video games not only entertain. Some such as Age of Empires, Caesar and even Sim City have become effective information and training tools, as confirmed by researchers at the University of Huelva (UHU) in an article published in the magazine Computers & Education.

According to the experts of the UHU, videogames have a proven utility for the teaching of Social Sciences. His research project, directed by José María Cuenca López and Miriam Martín Cáceres, had as fundamental axis the analysis of 35 programs with different themes (Politics, Geography and History ...) among more than 400 Primary and Secondary School students from centers of Huelva.

Experts believe that new technologies have led to the emergence of dynamic games with different levels of interaction, in which huge amounts of data, information, procedures and values ​​are intimately linked. "We have been able to appreciate not only an improvement in the teaching process, but a better predisposition of the student to access this information", underlines José María Cuenca. Cuenca López and Martín Cáceres divided the essay into several disciplines. To analyze the History, they used the Age of Empires video games and the Empire Earth. For Town Planning and Territory, they did the same with Caesar and Sim City. And the teachings related to Democracy and Citizen Participation, Economy and Business, and Environment were resolved with Sim City, Wall Street Trader and The Settlers, respectively.

Those that had greater acceptance were those of historical content - "by the spectacularity of the images and the dynamism of the development of the game" - and those related to the territory. However, he says, "it would be interesting to narrow the content filters to offer greater rigor over what is published."

"Video games have become laboratories for social experiments, especially because they reproduce scenarios, conditions and situations that affect a specific human phenomenon," he says. In this way, the researcher intends to break a spear in favor of "good use" of this technology, both in classrooms and in homes. "It requires, on the other hand, efforts of the teachers, it is a complementary technique," he says.

Read More

Microsoft: Gaming for Global Warming?

I was kind of shocked when I read the headline "Microsoft seeks answer to question 'Would global warming make for a good game?'", but I'm not sure why. On the one hand, although I have a PC, I don't enjoy using Microsoft Windows at all. In fact, I often use Ubuntu Linux in order to avoid using Windows. As far as I'm concerned, those Mac vs. PC commercials are completely true.

Read More