Essay on Royal Carribean Toxic Waste Dumping

A task that was assigned to me was to review the environmental requirements for policies and regulations associated with international, national, and local ballast water management regulations to determine applicability to Navy ships. Most of the work associated with this task was associated with examining the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) documents prior to and after the IMO meetings. The IMO MEPC documents from the 67th and 68th sessions were analyzed for environmental

In the Brullard reading, Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty: 1987-2007, Brullard discusses racial and socioeconomic disparities in relation to environmental issues from 1987 to 2007. 1987 is significant because it is the year when a report about environmental racism entitled Toxic Wastes and Race was published. This report raised awareness about the idea of environmental injustice and spurred further research on the subject. In Chapter 3, Brullard outlines two different methods used in this research: analysis of census data and “distance-based” methods. Brullard explains that using different research methods leads to slightly varying results, but studies using both methods still show racial disparities in relation to environmental hazards. In Chapter 4, Brullard argues that these disparities still exist in 2007, and that they exist all over the United States. In Chapter 7, he provides a contemporary example: the Holt family. The Holt family’s well water was contaminated because it was located near a landfill. The government, while

5. The discharge of all toxic chemicals, other wastes like sewage from ships, oily wastes, plastics and other forms of non-biodegradable rubbish should be strictly regulated and prohibited.

One of the most recognized disasters regarding hazardous chemicals is the wreck of the infamous Exxon Valdez. After the oil tanker ran aground on Bligh reef in the spring of 1989, millions of liters of crude oil leaked into the Prince William Sound, off the coast of Northern Alaska causing millions of the native wildlife to die. Thankfully, it didn’t seep into the open ocean but the oil harmed not only the local Alaskan wildlife it also harmed the reputation and honesty of big oil corporations such as the Exxon shipping company, the livelihoods of thousands of the local fishermen and the water quality of the Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez

Undoubtedly, the most egregious offender to the overall environmental health and stability of Benicia's waterways is the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, otherwise known as the “mothballed” fleet. This collection of decrepit, rusting vessels has been plaguing the beautiful waters of our Bay Area delta for more than sixty years. Ever since these ships were decommissioned at the end of World War II, they been left stagnant in our backyard, resulting in numerous environmental concerns. For example, various heavy metals such as lead and anti-fouling agents pollute our waters when paint peels off the ships' hulls, thus exposing the natural wildlife to dangerous compounds. Additionally, polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and other hazardous substances have been released, which can cause rashes if eaten by humans and liver damage or even death if consumed by animals. Thankfully, recent efforts have been made to better maintain the fleet and protect our native species, and the entire reserve is scheduled to be sold or scrapped by February 2017.

Back in the 1800s most waste that ships carried were dumped in our oceans without much thought. The difference from then to now is that the dump 200 years ago was biodegradable dump now about 14.4 million tons of our waste is plastic which is not always biodegradable according to the EPA and that number is rapidly increasing every year. Our oceans are massively being affected and so are we in ways unimaginable like the fact that our fish are ingesting chemicals that is in the plastics in the sea and we are being fed these toxic chemicals. Maybe if citizens have a better understanding of what is going on in our oceans they’ll decide to do something about it.

This paper will explain some of the effects of three legal issues and three ethical issues surrounding the London-based British Petroleum Company’s involvement in the explosion of the offshore oil rig Deepwater Horizon and the subsequent oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. There are many legal issues surrounding this disaster, but the three this paper will focus on are the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, maritime laws, and criminal charges

In 1986, a waste treaty between Canada and the U.S. was signed by American lawmakers concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste.  Under the terms of this treaty, the EPA is to receive notification of these shipments, and then would have 30 days to consent or object to the shipment. Since 1986 Canada has shipped its garbage to Michigan to be dumped into landfills and the provisions of this treaty have never been enforced.  But now is the time for them to be enforced and stop the importing of Canada's garbage.

As humanity continues to prosper agriculturally, industrially, and in population, companies, as well as local communities, have obsessively used the Ocean to toss their waste without consequences. The formation of dead zones has been intensified by the increase runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels. Enhanced primary production causes algae to bloom at a constant rate creating a layer near the surface. This layer acts as a roof to vegetation below resulting in a lack of oxygen which organisms use to live. According to Robert Diaz and Rutger Rosenberg, “Dead zones have now been reported from more than 400 systems, affecting a total area of more than 245,000 square kilometers, and are probably a key stressor on marine ecosystems.” Specifically, the Chesapeake Bay has been polluted to the point where areas have now been uninhabitable to marine life. Although waste disposal is a difficult issue to solve, polluting bodies of water endangers the marine life, environment, and health of organisms.

While a beautiful sunset on the beach can be astounding, a spectacular scene is not the only benefit oceans provide. Without the oceans, we would not have adequate amounts of oxygen to breathe or enough protein to eat. The Earth's climate would not be inhabitable for human beings and many animals. The oceans supply medicines, food and drinking water which arise from ocean processes. Out of the five oceans, the Pacific Ocean is the world’s largest and deepest ocean. It spreads over an area of 165.2 million square kilometers. More than 25,000 islands float within the Pacific. Within the Pacific Ocean lies an unusual island, an island that is more than twice the size of Texas and is earth’s largest landfill, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Emelle, Alabama not only holds one of the biggest commercial hazardous-waste landfill in America, but African-Americans make up 90% of the population of the town. A Choctaw Native American reservation in Philadelphia, Mississippi holds a 466-acre hazardous landfill (Wright 532). These statistics have revealed the sensitive boundary between racial and social classes. Specific human factors have driven the need for change in environmental practices, such as growing human population, increased natural resource consumption, and the effluent discharges of manufacturing. This situation has resulted in a significant negative impact on world ecosystems (Dietz, Ostrom, and Stern 1907). What ties both of these critical concerns

The United States has always been known as the home of the brave and land of the free. We tend to think our country is dominant, advanced, and stable; we also like to overshadow our problems with our glorious recognition as almost the entire world has seen our patriotism in some sense. “Every year one American produces over 3,285 pounds of hazardous waste”; the total population in the United States is around 300,000,000. In other words, if we calculate the number of Americans living in the United States and the number of pounds each American produces, the total of hazardous waste is about 925,500,000,000. That is 115 times more waste than the entire population on Earth; China and India’s population exceeds 1,000,000,000. Just imagine how much waste is being produced on a global scale. This hazardous waste is not only destroying species but also their habitats, which are more important because they provide intrinsic value to our community as a whole. Together, we must preserve and conserve Earth’s natural ecological system and its citizens

Waste Management, Inc., incorporated in 1968, had become a leader in the industry of waste management services ranging from industrial operations to curbside collection. This company had become synonymous with many different kinds of disposal services that allowed for the company to grow and grow with a solid base over the course of twenty-eight years. Finally in 1996, the company reported total assets of almost $20 billion with net income close to $200 million. However, even with this growth and solid base, the company was feeling competitive pressures and net income was on the decline.

“Why should the leaders of chemical businesses be held responsible for polluting the marine environment with a few grams of effluent, which is sublethal to marine species, while celebrity chefs are turning out endangered fish at several dozen tables a night without enduring a syllable of criticism” (Charles Clover, 2004).

Hazardous waste and its proper disposal have become a major sociological problem today due to its capability of contaminating the area in which we live and its potential to be lethal to all living things. In order for the United States and the rest of the world to save itself from a potentially life threatening problem they must fix the causes which lead to the improper disposal of hazardous wastes and like materials. Some reasons that hazardous waste has become a problem in the United States today is due to the breakdown in enforcing laws for the proper disposal of such wastes, a lack of initiative on big companies behalf to spend money on proper disposal, and the ease of disposing of such wastes illegally.