08 Jan Port Commissioner: “We Don’t Want to be Hypocrites”
Local news station Q13 ran a story about the proposed cruise ship terminal in Pioneer Square and included perspectives of those who were both concerned as well as welcoming of the new cruise ship terminal.
At the Port of Seattle meeting, most of the public comments urged the Port to halt the cruise ship terminal plans. Members of the public said:
“We are in a climate crisis.”
“Carbon sequestration takes care of 8,300 tons of carbon. [Cruise ships cause] several million tons of carbon.”
“Solar panels, electrical panels … planting eel grass. Those are false solutions.”
“Stop thinking about economic growth in a 1950s style.”
“You have no tangible plans [to address the climate crisis]. We are down to 10 years.”
“Go beyond mitigating environmental action to putting a pause on [the cruise ship terminal].”
“Let’s be the port that stands up and speaks the truth.”
Q13 reporter Hana Kim caught up with Port Commissioner Peter Steinbrueck who said, “The Port of Seattle strives to be the greenest port in America, we don’t want to be hypocrites either.”
Let’s be clear: cruise ship terminals worldwide have abysmal environmental track record. Carnival cruise lines, for example, emit more greenhouse gasses than all the cars in Europe, combined. The sulfur is linked to cancer and asthma and contribute to 400,000 premature deaths annually. For Seattle to be “the greenest” port is a very low bar.
We don’t want the Port Commissioners to be hypocrites. We want them to take their leadership positions seriously. We want them to look beyond short-term profits and to study the science. Understand the real human cost and the cost of the environmental damage it could cause—including the real possibility that it can cause the extinction of our resident orcas.
We ask the Port Commissions to the right thing: stop cruise ship expansion in Seattle.