AP:
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is pushing to protect Antarctica’s fragile environment by imposing mandatory limits on the size of cruise ships sailing there and the number of passengers they bring ashore.
At a conference set to begin Monday in Baltimore, U.S. diplomats will propose amending the 50-year-old Antarctic Treaty. The move would seek to mandate, under international law, the current voluntary restrictions on tourism.
A U.S. document provided to The Associated Press by the State Department says the plan would “minimize the likelihood of marine oil spills” in the Antarctic and “ensure that tourism is conducted in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.”
This is good news as it seems that it’s always these Antarctica cruise ships that run into trouble. Let the eco-tourists pay more for safer ships on which to take their vain, carbon-spewing trips on behalf of the planet.