Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles (D) yesterday ordered a special session of the state legislature to hammer out what would become the world’s first comprehensive law to control waste discharges from the cruise ship industry. The state House has easily passed a proposed package of regulations, but the measure has stalled in the state Senate. The cruise ship industry, which has been hit with a spate of poor publicity in recent years for pollution violations, has promised to comply with whatever bill makes it to Knowles’s desk. Alaska is expected to set an example for states like California, Florida, and Washington, which also have to contend with the millions of gallons of wastewater discharged from cruise ships each year.
