Whoa, big boy, Let's not get ourselves carried away.
The cause of pollution on this earth is humans. Get rid of the humans and the planet will survive just fine!
Oh, you think that's a bad idea? OK then, we have to balance pollution with humans and their activities. It seems pretty ironic for a guy who buys a boat made out of petrochemicals and burns fossil fuel to take him back and forth to places he doesn't need to go to be complaining about people's septic systems and so forth. Maybe you should trade your trawler in on a sailboat. Or better yet, a kayak.
If we're not going to get rid of the humans, we should minimize pollution. We can't eliminate it. We can't stop burning coal or making concrete without drastically changing our lifestyle. And if we continue to have recreational boating, we must continue to use effective bottom paints. Maybe someday there will be a bottom paint or treatment that causes no harm to the environment but since what we are trying to do with our bottom paint is prevent growth which is part of the environment, that's going to be pretty difficult to do.
And we can't control what other people do. The fact that tin based bottom paints are legal in other parts of the world is proof of that.
Personally, I'm not one to sneak illegal bottom paint into this country but I will continue to use the most effective legal products.
Yo! I never said I'm a saint. Just thinking of best actions to take while still living/enjoying life. I'm not completely "green". I am somewhat thoughtful.