#8 – Cruising Toward a Pollution Solution: How a Healthy Ecosystem and Cruise Ship Tourism Can Coexist

Do you copy? Weather data shows it's a beautiful day in the SeaBank. Pull out your snorkel and prepare to dive in. Sponsored by Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. In this transmission about Alaska's coastal rainforest ecosystem, you’ll combine a snorkeling excursion in SeaBank waters with an immersive economics lesson on negative externalities. While floating amid the sounds of seagulls and bell buoys, encounter phytoplankton and other inhabitants of the marine food web—along with the realities of aquatic pollution like PAHs, sulfates, nitrates, and heavy metals released by cruise ships that use open-loop scrubber technology. Luckily, your pack contains a dry towel plus a pollution solution with room for both the economic benefits of tourism and a healthy Southeast Alaska environment. It’s all about a switch from low-quality heavy fuel oil to cleaner-burning marine gas oil, which any vessel employing a marine scrubber can easily do 100% of the time. For more information on the use of Heavy Fuel Oil and sustainable cruise tourism, visit Southeast Alaska Conservation Council at www.seacc.org. The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and credits