Seattlest: Double The Cruises Out Of Seattle Next Summer

Robin Evans

Fri, 06 Jan 2006 11:09:28 -0800

I guess I watch Seattle Channel too much, but there was a typically self-concratulatory story there a while back about one step that the city has taken to at least slightly mitigate the impact of the ships. For at least one of the ships from one of the lines (Princess), City Light installed big extension cords so that the boat can hook up to the city's cleaner power sources while it's moored instead of running its own dirty diesel generators while docked (as the other ships apparently still do). Here's a link to a City Light press release: http://www2.cityofseattle.net/light/Key/utilityTrends/default.asp

Dan

Fri, 06 Jan 2006 10:05:38 -0800

I figure there has to be some kind of lever to use against them short of legislation. I mean, didn't we just build them an entire slip? "Clean up your act or we'll stop spending millions on your behalf," would be a good start.

Phil

Fri, 06 Jan 2006 00:37:40 -0800

I agree - this was one of the filthiest industries we could have invited in here. Couldn't most of these people be just as happy staying in Omaha with a Viewmaster and a bunch of stuff to microwave? And Seth is right, jurisdiction is a big problem with all the mixed modes of transportation involved. A preponderance of them are controlled by the Port (Seatac, the waterfront), and some leverage could be applied there. I think, though, that the state, through the Dept of Ecology, could do the most thorough job. If they had the manpower. And the will.

Seth

Thu, 05 Jan 2006 16:12:21 -0800

This is a great point--although I wonder how much control local cities can have over waterways, which are generally the purview of the feds. I doubt we could, say, prevent ships from China from docking in Seattle because we don't like their human rights violations.