Cruise Ship Features Gigantic Green Roof, but it Still Ain’t Eco-Friendly
Cruise ships are pretty much the antithesis of green. They’re gigantic floating pollution factories, spewing CO2 and dumping waste like bilge water, graywater, sewage and trash. So, it’s pretty much impossible for these floating cities to ever really earn the ‘green’ label – but, that’s not stopping some cruise lines from trying.
Maryland-based Green Roof Service LLC just got done installing a massive 15,000-sq-ft green roof on the cruise ship Celebrity Solstice at Meyer Werft (Ship Yard), in Germany, the first of its kind. However, it’s more like a giant resource-intensive lawn than a real green roof.
Treehugger disputes its supposed eco-friendliness:
But beyond the literal greenness of this thing, I wonder about its ecological impact. After all, photos and press releases suggest this is about maintaining pristine turf for putting, croquet and picnics – which means this is hardly likely to be a wildlife haven for passing bees (?!). Not to mention irrigation needs, and the requirement for “easy replacement of turf”. There will, undoubtedly, be some benefit in avoiding oil and other toxic runoff from the deck, but overall this doesn’t get the TreeHugger in me overly thrilled. (Somebody with more knowledge of green roofs may be able to tell me if I am overly cynical.)
At least this ‘green roof’ isn’t the only way the Celebrity Solstice ship is trying to go green. Its other efforts are far more laudable. From the press release:
- Entire ship with mostly LED lightning technology saves over 20% of power.
- Four Hybrid (Common Rail Diesel-Electro) engines.
- All roofs have photovoltaics (including glass roofs).
- Advanced biological waste water treatment facility.
- Recycling and separation of trash and waste.
- Fresh water production with reused heat and reverse osmosis and low chlorine.
- Reuse and refining of oil on board.
- Run-off collection tank only for green roof.
- Corporate leadership with “Save The Waves” program.
Bottom line: cruise ships aren’t green, and putting a big green lawn on the top of one isn’t going to change that. However, real efforts to at least cut back some of the waste & pollution are a step in the right direction.
Link Treehugger + Green Roofs
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- Meet the Wallflowers: 30 Green Roof and Wall Designs
- WWII War Ship Now an Artificial Reef in the Florida Keys
- Green Goes Gigantic: Huge Public Gardens & Eco-Museums
- Potty-Trained Pigs – Solution to Farming Pollution?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under Consciousness, Green Living, Health, Science, Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
