Green Options

The Northwest Passage is opening up. As Arctic ice melts, the shipping season will grow, and with it, the pressures on the fragile Arctic ecosystem.

Some say that Somalian pirates are out to help save the water from illegal dumping by Western nations. Are these green buccaneers or just men out to make a profit?

The US Environmental Protection Agency has imposed a record fine on a toxic ship dealer for attempting to export a ship containing deadly polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to the infamous shipbreaking beaches of South Asia.

Rotterdam-based marine-engineering firm DK Group has been quietly testing one of the strangest-sounding technologies to come along in the recent past— a ship that floats on air. This past September, the company let loose a 272 foot long cargo vessel in Norway’s Oslo Fjord. 25 feet below the ship’s surface, recesses built into the underside of the vessel’s hull created drag-reducing pockets.

With yesterday’s signing of the Maritime Pollution Act of 2008 U.S. agencies have taken another step forward in implementing a key international agreement to reduce air pollution from large ships.

Italy’s failure to apply EU directives is not only related to the garbage emergency in Naples. A recent article by Fulcro Pratesi, President of the environmental group Wwf Italy, makes a plea to save one of the most enchanting Italian cities from degradation. Summer is coming and big cruise liners are devastating the Venice lagoon creating a health hazard for residents.

Tourism has been part of the life of Venice for centuries; however, in the last years, the city has faced grave problems due to the tremendous volume of tourists each year. Residents say that whereas the centre of Venice was once full of shops selling ‘real things’ but now most shops sell souvenirs such as Merano glass and carnival masks.