Ocean-going vessels account for 30 percent of the world’s harmful emissions, greenhouse gases like hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. Many of the greenhouse gases spewed by your boat come from your gasoline or diesel generator.

Generating Risk

Pollution from your vessel’s generator is particularly risky. Generators are commonly turned on when a vessel is stationary, allowing excessive carbon monoxide concentrations to build up near the rear deck. The fumes that your generator is creating aren’t just annoying. They put passengers and passersby at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning.

Between 1990 and 2000, some 111 CO poisonings were reported at Lake Powell alone, located near the borders of Arizona and Utah, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Cleaner-burning generators were among the innovations that can reduce carbon monoxide risk, the NIOS concluded.