Just turned on the TV and saw a rather revolting display of sensationalism from the local news, pushing their 11 PM broadcast. Someone has figured out that container ships are a source of pollution here.

In just 12 hours, they can belch out the pollution of 12,000 cars into the air you and your family breathe, and we welcome them with open arms....cruising our waters, slowly choking us....what's being done to stop it?

Well, why don't we shut the port down? After all, we don't want to have to deal with all that icky pollution. We'd also put Senator Patty Murray's tiny little mind at ease, since she won't have to worry about security measures at the port. (We'd save almost $8 million dollars on security costs for the port, money for which Murray fought tooth and nail.) We could even turn the port facility into a waterfront park, or perhaps set up homeless shelters, clearing out the homeless hordes that have overrun Pioneer Square and the rest of the downtown area.

Of course, there are the 34,000+ jobs, the $2.46 Billion in yearly income, and the $210 million in taxes generated by the port. But it's our lives at stake </heavy sarcasm> It's for the children™. (source; PDF)

posted on May 06, 2005 07:53 PM



Comments:

... or they could just pay a few thousand extra bucks for exhaust scrubbers or less polluting engines, and create more jobs and cleaner air in the process.

posted by Gringo on May 7, 2005 02:03 PM

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How will scrubbers create more jobs?

Remember, we're supposedly the country that is running roughshod over the environment, but none of these ships is flying the US flag, and few (if any) of them were built in the US, and all of them are bringing in products from other countries.

Additionally, what is the cost/benefit ratio for scrubbers? It is my understanding that marine fuel scrubbers are not particularly effective, and are spectacularly expensive. There is a tradeoff between cleaner air and less expensive goods; in most cases, people cannot have both.

posted by timekeeper on May 7, 2005 04:21 PM

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