07 Jan KUOW Story on Pioneer Square Cruise Terminal
Local NPR affiliate KUOW reported that the proposed Pioneer Square cruise ship terminal could help businesses, but harm the environment.
Cruise ships using heavy bunker fuel are in fact the singularly most polluting entity in Seattle. One cruise ship idling in port puts out the equivalent emissions as one million cars idling for a full day, explains Tija Petrovich, owner of Seattle Fitness, citing a study by the German research institute NABU and confirmed by the EPA.
The hospitality industry will see benefits, but small local businesses will most likely not—and many worry about displacement. In port cities around the world, small businesses are closing or are otherwise being displaced. The Puget Sound Business Journal found that the Port of Seattle overstated the benefits of their program to encourage cruise passenger spending
Local institution Ivar’s supports the new cruise ship terminal in Pioneer Square. We invite them to learn about the incredible environmental damage cruise ships bring and the linkages to increased rates of cancer and asthma. Next time you’re at Ivar’s, drop a note in the comment box!
The Port of Seattle touts its green policies, including solar panels and shore power. “Those are insignificant compared to the millions of tons [of greenhouse gasses] annually that the cruise industry is responsible for,” said local environmentalist Jordan Van Voast.
Read and/or listen to the full KUOW story by Joshua McNichols.