The Role of American NGOs in the Regulation of Cruise Ship Pollution
Each year, thousands of tons of pollution are generated on cruise ships and dumped into the world’s oceans. This pollution threatens the marine environment, the cruise ship industry, and the people who depend on a healthy ocean. Neither historical nor current international oceanic regimes provide comprehensive regulation on cruise ship pollution. To address the threats posed by limited oceanic pollution regulation in American and international waters, several American nongovernmental organizations have pursued diverse tactics to generate government, industry, and consumer response. To the extent that NGOs are able to influence policy, the actions of these groups challenges the realist notion that non-state actors have little influence on policy.
A case study of three prominent American NGOs demonstrates how different strategies can be implemented to influence oceanic policy. The Bluewater Network, Oceana, and Conservation International have tried to abate pollution from cruise ships by either lobbying the government for improved policies, generating public awareness of the cruise ship pollution issue, or working with the cruise ship industry to implement stronger pollution controls. These actors have responded to the weakness in the oceanic policy regime. Although cruise ship pollution remains a major threat to national and international waters, American NGOs have been successful in generating increased awareness of the issue and have been able encourage policies that will make cruises more sustainable for both the environment and the industry (Oceana).
The Development of Oceanic Policy
International agreements have established the United St...
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... The cruise ship pollution campaign has been strengthened by the cooperation among organizations that the Bluewater Network petition facilitated. Heightened public awareness, engendered by NGO campaigns, has pressured the U.S. government and the cruise ship industry to respond. If policy changes, such as those presented in the Clean Cruise Ships Act of 2004, occur, the activities of Conservation International may allow the cruise ship industry to comply with environmental regulations while maintaining high profits. The confluence of each NGO’s actions may provide the means necessary for a strong domestic ocean regime. In the absence of international cooperation, a strong American ocean policy is an important step in safeguarding the world’s oceans. Various strategies have allowed NGOs to highlight cruise ship pollution as an issue that can not longer be ignored.
Before the 1970s, environmental policy was not the more publicized issue that it is today. After the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969, the environmental movement really took off. The federal government took the situation into their hands and paid more attention to environmental policy than they had been doing in the past. While the states still have quite a bit of power when it com...
...ave no future if our children are treated worthlessly. Community is a big key here. And community needs to come together and fight against child abuse. Protection of children from harm is not just an ethical duty; it is a matter of national survival.
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Since the early days when Adam Smith coined the term “invisible hand of the market” in his magnum opus, The Wealth of Nations, it was typically believed among the general population that all goods can be distributed without any interference from the government. Contrary to the popular belief, however, this applies specifically to private goods, i.e. a type of good that is both rivalrous and excludable. It may seem that marine biodiversity is a type of public good, since they are in the vast ocean and everyone is entitled to their ownership. However, many marine biodiversity have tremendous economic values, and one person using it may constitute as another person not being able to use it. Thus, it is best described by the term “impure public goods”. Impure public goods, also known as “mixed public goods”, are “public goods whose benefits are particularly rival and/or partially excludable” and provides both private and public benefits. (Squires, Mixed Goods, 59) “International environmental public goods generate benefits that spill over national borders, so that the benefits (or costs) of those goods extend beyond the country of origin.” (Arriagada and Perrings, 800) Since many biodiversity, such as dolphins and coral reefs, are important to the public and yet could be exploited by citizen of any country, it is important for different countries’ governments to cooperate and conserve the marine biodiversity together. The conservation of marine biodiversity will depend on the externalities that are associated with impure public goods, and slo the technolog of public good supplies. We will also look at the incentives to conserve marine biodiversity in t...
The article indicates that the influences of oceans pollution that made by humans and caused by a phenomenon called “dead zones”. First of all, there is a great amount of plastic in the ocean which causes massive consequences for animals of the entire marine food web. On the other hand, “Dead zone” also affect Earth’s oceans. “Dead zones” can formed by many causes, such as natural causes, climate change, along human activities and industrial waste. These is a national problem and humans need to have some regulatory mechanisms. Therefore, it can helps the “dead zones” reduced. The author mentions that the US Environmental
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The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as, “The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. Whereas the Belgium Red Cross says that terrorism is committed “for the purpose of intimidating the population, forcing a third party to act or destablishing or destroying the fundamental structures of a country or of an international organization”.
Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (2012). Personality: Classic theories and modern research (5th ed). Boston , MA, USA: Pearson
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Oceans are such so vast that people underestimate the impact their actions —seeming so insignificant— have on them. Humans have by and large taken the oceans for granted; not considering how important a healthy ocean is to our survival. A popular mind-set is that the oceans are a bottomless supply of fish, natural resources, and an infinite waste dump. There are myriad reasons why the oceans should be saved and the most obvious one is marine life. With 71% of the Earth being covered by water, it is obvious that sea creatures are predominant form of life, making up 80% of the species of life on Earth. However, as important as marine life is, that is not the only reason why saving the oceans is crucial. The ocean floor provides natural resources such as, oil, natural gas, petroleum, minerals, medications, and ingredients for foods and products. The economic benefits of the oceans are huge and significant, as well. Fishing and fish products have provided employment to 38 million people and have generated about $124 billion in economic benefits. However, oceans are on the verge of crisis, marine life, natural resources, transportation, the economy, and important ingredients are at risk due to overfishing, pollution, and acidification. Thus, in this essay I will argue that, oceans are not impervious to human activity and threatening the health of the ocean threatens the health of humanity, since oceans key to our survival.
1989 United Nations moratorium on high seas large-scale driftnets is passed. 1990 Greenpeace Australia's Clean Waters campaign exposes coastal water pollution.
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