I mentioned that in January, Jason and I went on vacation—on a cruise through the Panama Canal. Jason had read David McCullough’s Path Between the Seas, about the construction of the canal, and he really wanted to see it himself. But I worried about the environmental impact of the trip—cruise ships are notoriously wasteful. They’re basically giant luxury hotels propelled hundreds of miles through the ocean. So I did some research to find the cruise line that has the best environmental reputation.

Holland America's MSS Statendam

We chose Holland America because it’s been highly rated by Treehugger and its transparency in sustainability reporting is impressive. See its 2009 sustainability report as an example. Since 2006 the ships have been managed in accordance with the ISO 14001 international environmental management standard, as certified by the independent auditor Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance. ISO 14001 is voluntary, on top of the flag state, port state, local, and international regulations (like MARPOL) that the ships must comply with.

While onboard the MSS Statendam, I got to talk to to the ship’s safety, environmental, and health officer, Jason Grimes. He held a presentation about what Holland America is doing to reduce its impact (watch the video) and gave me some hard numbers on their actual improvements from 2010 to 2011:

• Goal: Reduce total quantity of solid waste by 5%
• Actual: 8.9% decrease, 11/11 versus 11/10 (cumulative decrease of 8.7%)

• Goal: Increase total quantity of recyclable materials generated by 5% from 2010
• Actual: 94.8% increase, 11/11 versus 11/10 (cumulative increase of 24.8%)

• Goal: Reduce copy paper use by 10% from 2010
• Actual: 38.1% decrease, 11/11 versus 11/10 (cumulative decrease of 12.1%)

• Goal: Implement a sustainable seafood program
• Actual: 100% of all fish served are sustainable in November 2011

• Goal: Reduce fuel consumption by 2% below budgeted amounts
• Actual: 5.6% below budgeted amounts in November 2011

• Goal: Reduce refrigerant releases 10% from 2010
• Actual: 32.3% decrease, 11/11 versus 11/10  (1,351kg)

It’s especially impressive that they’ve been able to do this while adding more ships to their fleet. Outside of these larger goals, Holland America takes many other actions to reduce its impact.

Wastewater – A wastewater purification system treats water to a higher quality than most municipal treatment systems, and the discharge is “clean enough to meet drinking water standards in many communities.” Digestive bacteria, filters, UV light, and oily water separators are all used to clean the different types of wastewater: black water (sewage), gray water (from all other uses), and ballast.

Water use - Outside of water conservation that’s familiar from hotels, like towel reuse and low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets, freshwater evaporators use waste heat from the engines to make freshwater from seawater. Condensation from cooling units provides enough water for cleaning purposes.

Emissions – Holland America’s voluntary air emissions standards are stricter than U.S. standards. Some ships, like the Zaandam, even have a seawater scrubber that removes sulfer and particulates from emissions.

Other things they do:

• Use environmentally friendly cleaning supplies from Ecolab.
• Encourage crew compliance with recycling by depositing savings from recycling into a recreation fund for the crew.
• Paint hull with silicone-based paint (refreshed every three years) to reduce growths on the hull and therefore friction, leading to a 5.6% savings on fuel.
• Dry clean without perchloroethylene.
• Print with soy inks.

As a testament to its commitment to the environment, Holland America is the only major cruise line that still sends ships to Antarctica, after increased regulations prohibited heavy fuel oil (diesel) use in Antarctic waters.

There are definitely some smaller National Geographic/Lindblad and sailing cruises that would be more environmentally friendly than a traditional cruise, but those can cost twice as much—prohibitively expensive for us. Maybe someday…

Did you miss me? Sorry the site was down—I went on vacation for a couple weeks, and my hosting expired. But contrary to all evidence, Pragmatic Environentalism does still exist, and I’ve got some great info coming up on cruise ships, Costa Rica, forestry management, and program evaluation. I know you’re waiting with bated breath…

Just in time for Christmas….

• 8 Gifts That Reduce Waste – Examiner. Okay, so if you haven’t bought all your presents, you’re a serious procrastinator, but here are a few good ideas.
• DIY Green Wrapping – Green Phone Booth. I love wrapping presents in reusable bags. Two gifts in one!
• Vegetarian Holiday Recipes – Green Phone Booth. Has anyone tried these? They look good.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve shared, so there’s a lot. Do you do want the good news or the bad news first?

The good news:

• Empire State Building Achieves LEED Gold Certification – Inhabit. It’s the tallest building in the U.S. to get LEED certification.
• EPA Issues Rule Limiting Arsenic, Mercury Emissions from Power Plants – NPR. About half of the coal- and oil-fired power plants still lack modern pollution controls. Now they have three years to clean up their act.
• Elevation of the Chimp May Reshape Research – New York Times. The government is halting all new grants for research on chimps.
• EPA Report Cracks Down on Hydraulic Fracking – Energy 2.0. The EPA specifically links fracking with groundwater contamination.
• Could Having Better Labels Help out the Environment? – Slate. More argument for social norms advertising.
• Naked People Need Building Science – Energy Vanguard. Okay, so this is less good news and more funny. But it makes a good point!

The bad news:

• The Scariest Energy Graph You’ll See Today – Green Bang. Warning: the the US Energy Information Administration’s International Energy Outlook 2011 is pretty depressing.
• Canada Holds Hearing on Suspected Virus in Salmon – New York Times. Infectious salmon anemia has spread from farmed fish to wild.
• As Permafrost Thaws, Scientists Study the Risks – New York Times. Permafrost could contain twice as much carbon as the entire atmosphere.
• Plastic Bags – XKCD. I love XKCD.

Some people consider me a bit of a grinch. I’m generally not a big fan of required gift giving, considering it an inefficient use of money. You may have seen my favorite article on the subject, “The economic argument for never giving another gift.” I quote it a lot. Another good one is “The economist’s guide to giving Christmas presents that people actually want.” They argue that we value things less (20% less!) when we don’t buy them for ourselves. Expected gifts (Christmas, birthday, anniversary) are especially devalued.

Pink and brown is the new red and green.

How to avoid this trap without looking like a total scrooge?

• Give to people you know well. Daily or weekly contact translates to gifts that are 10% more satisfying.
• Give experiences, not things. Interpersonal relationships and new experiences consistently make people happier than material goods.
• Surprise them. Whether the surprise is in the timing or the present itself, unexpected gifts are the most satisfying.
• Give to those less fortunate. Redistributing wealth—even if it’s just from comfortable adults to broke students—is a particularly good way to make gifts more efficient.

Okay, so I don’t have a Christmas list, but Energy Circle and Grist have done it for me.

• Energy Circle’s 2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts of Efficiency – Energy Circle. I love that spray foam and caulk are at the top of this list.
• A gift guide to bike stuff that people actually want  - Grist. I vote for Smart Wool socks.
• Hubway to branch out next spring – Boston Globe. 20 stations in Cambridge starting in March!
• Winter Farmers’ Markets – Boston Globe. The winter farmers market at the Pru is definitely not getting the love it deserves right now.
• Organic Can Feed the World – The Atlantic. ”A 2010 United Nations study (PDF) concluded that organic and other sustainable farming methods that come under the umbrella of what the study’s authors called ‘agroecology’ would be necessary to feed the future world.”
• Carbon Emissions Show Biggest Jump Ever Recorded – New York Times. ”The increase, a half-billion extra tons of carbon pumped into the air, was almost certainly the largest absolute jump in any year since the Industrial Revolution.”
• What’s the #1 Air-Pollution Source in Montreal During Winter? Old Wood Stoves and Fireplaces – Treehugger. Old wood stoves are not only inefficient, but release tons of particulate matter into the air.
• Sustainability: 4 Principles for Behavior Change – Practically Green. I love these! Berklee’s Counseling and Advising Center did an anti–drugs and alcohol social norms campaign that was just great.