Currents Summer 2024 (1) - Flipbook - Page 13
On the scale of carbon-intensive travel at which the cruise ship industry operates, token
sustainability measures can be difficult to spot. Hurtigruten9s purportedly green yet still
exceedingly high carbon emissions (even if they are just 80% of the original) are one present
example.
The burgeoning Antarctic tourism industry has no genuine motivation for promoting clean
energy other than as a form of greenwashing which allows it to continue profiting from what
has been deemed a 8see it before it9s gone9 mentality among visitors.
The feel-good conservation narrative
Scarves and mittens are strewn across the floor of the ship9s main cabin. Passengers weave
through the piles of outerwear, hurriedly finding their seats as they prepare for the day9s
excursion. A video begins to play on the TV screen affixed to the wall behind the bar.
The landing and workshop visitor briefing prior to going ashore in Antarctica runs for 3
minutes and 44 seconds. In the video, tourists are told to carefully rinse their footwear before
excursions, clean their jackets to rid them of contaminants like foreign seeds, and at all times
maintain the required 15-meter distance from wildlife.
When the video ends, no questions are asked by passengers, who are focused on donning
their special gear. Their boots are standard-issue, the washing stations part of the IAATOmandated procedure.
14
