On January 16th, CWN Board member Gershon Cohen was kicked off the Alaska cruise ship wastewater treatment science advisory panel. The group is intended to advise the Department of Conservation (DEC) on how the ships can meet strict pollution discharge limits by 2015. Cohen was initially invited to join the panel on December 23, 2009, but then received a phone call on January 16, 2010 from DEC Commissioner Larry Hartig disinviting him. The state claims they thought  Cohen was too much of an advocate and they wanted this panel to be independent and unbiased by his agenda, yet they still allow a representative from the cruise industry to hold a place on the panel, because clearly the cruise ship industry doesn't have an agenda. To read the entire story, click here.