Friends of the Earth ignores facts

January 1, 1970

The latest grades are out, and for the most part, the Friends of the Earth (FOE) flunked its own report.

In the Cruise Ship Environmental Report Card released recently by Friends of the Earth, the nonprofit organization noted improvements among the cruise lines as well as big disappointments since its 2009 report.

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) released the following statement in response to the report:

"It is unfortunate that instead of contributing to a meaningful scientific dialogue about protecting our oceans, FOE continues to use innuendo and to misstate the facts to advance its agenda. This ‘report card' is not based on science, law, or the facts, and like its last one, is rooted in FOE's own arbitrary and flawed criteria.

"CLIA member cruise lines meet and often exceed all applicable international and federal environmental standards enforced by U.S. authorities and others around the world. CLIA and its members have explained to FOE in great detail the regulations that govern the cruise line industry in the U.S. and abroad, as well as the many practices and technological innovations underway that go beyond what it required of cruise ships all in the name of protecting the environment. FOE's repeated refusal to acknowledge the facts is further evidence that its so-called ‘report card' is intended only to advance its own extreme agenda. Fortunately, regulatory compliance and environmental protection is not based on meeting FOE's biased, unscientific interpretation of what the rules should be.

"Within the broader maritime industry, the environmental work of our lines is in fact setting the gold standard. CLIA has brought FOE representatives on board a cruise ship to see our systems and procedures firsthand and to ask questions, and it is disappointing these efforts to educate FOE about the facts were futile."

For instance:

"Our lines are committed to protecting the environments in which we operate and are constantly developing and implementing state of the art practices and procedures such as shore power, exhaust gas scrubbers, diesel electric power plants and advanced wastewater treatment technologies to further reduce our impact on the natural environment."

The report card features 11 cruise lines and 113 ships, rating their performance in such categories as sewage treatment, air-pollution reduction and water-quality compliance. Overall, Holland America Line and Norwegian Cruise Line received the highest grades of B-minus.

The study recognized Disney as the "most improved" cruise line since last year's report, mainly for installing advanced wastewater treatment systems on its ships. And Crystal Cruises, new to the report this year, copped an F.

"We are very disturbed at FOE’s questionable criteria and selective research to rate cruise ships," Crystal wrote.

"Crystal Cruises has implemented many initiatives that focus on waste streams, such as energy conservation, water filtration and waste reduction. In keeping with our high standards in everything we do, Crystal Cruises’ policy on sewage discharge exceeds international regulations. With our Environmental Management System, Crystal has achieved certification to the ISO 14001 standard, which is only awarded to those companies that meet a comprehensive and stringent set of criteria. In fact, Crystal was recertified this past year following an extensive audit.

"We are proud to be internationally recognized for our ‘Crystal Clean’ initiatives. In 2009, the Ports of Stockholm presented Crystal Symphony with the Environmental Buoy Diploma for the third time, in recognition of our waste management efforts in the region, and Crystal Cruises was awarded the ‘Venice Blue Flag’ by the port of Venice for our commitment to reducing emissions and safeguarding the city’s environment."