Mission 2011 is about saving the oceans and the fisheries, and an integral part of solving the current problem is taking action against all forces of nature which are destroying marine life and the marine environment. One such force which the public is not aware of are the 'Floating Cities' known to the general public as cruise ships. Represenative Sam Farr is from California, and his district includes the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. He writes, "The pristine ocean cruisers we see in TV commercials are also massive ocean polluters, often generating and dumping wastes equivalent to those of a small city into our coastal waters." (This a from a quote inside a source, the CQ researcher - I'm not exactly sure how to cite it.) Even more devastating are the effects of cruise ships near delicate environments such Caribbeancoral reefs, where the effects of pollution are magnified.
Yet, legally, cruise ships are allowed to dump raw, untreated sewage into the ocean after the ship has moved beyond the three-mile limit, and many ships routinely perform this action. Indeed, this waste is filled with bacteria killing and sickening marine life and harming human health.(CQ Researcher -I'm not exactly sure how to cite it). Thus, when looking to solve this problem, we can utilize a three-fold approach, educating the public about the pollution and providing accreditation for ships which have water-treatment systems. Third, we will require all cruise ships to implement water-treatment systems and will prosecute ships which dump raw, untreated sewage into the ocean and international waters. The standards needed to be passed by the water-treatment system will be decided based on the effectiveness and cost of the water-treatment systems, taking into account the fact that some cruise ships already have certain water-treatment systems installed.