More air quality testing is needed near Victoria's cruise ship docks, British Columbia Environment Minister Barry Penner said today.
“If you don't measure, it's very hard to manage,” said Penner, who along with environment ministry officials was demonstrating a mobile air-quality monitoring lab outside the Parliament buildings.
The unit has previously been used to study cruise ship emissions at Ogden Point. The Tyee reported in March that a Capital Regional District report said levels of sulphur dioxide gas near the docks often exceeded World Health Organization and provincial guidelines and that the increases appeared to be related to cruise ship visits.
“I believe that data was shared with the CRD and that we're working with them to further identify what the challenges are and what the potential solutions are,” said Penner. “My understanding is that further testing has been deemed to be appropriate and there will be further work done.”
Last week in the legislature Penner introduced four visiting cruise ship industry representatives. They were NorthWest CruiseShip Association president John Hansen, Carnival Corporation vice-president Tom Dow, Royal Caribbean Tours vice-president Andy Nelson and Princess Tours vice-president Bruce Bustamonte.
“They were here meeting with a number of people,” said Penner in an interview. “The cruise ship season starts very soon, so they were making the rounds. I suspect they met with a number of people.”
Penner said they met with him, but declined to say who else they met with or what they discussed. “From time to time people come to meet with me, but I'm not at liberty to disclose those conversations.”
The names of none of the four industry representatives appear in the province's new lobbyists' registry.
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.
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G West
2 years ago
Interesting Mr Penner
The numbers are out for 2008 and BC is still increasing its production of GHG. What was it now, remind me, about 2%? Yeah, I think that's it.
How's that promise of the CEO for a 33% reduction by 2020 coming Barry?
As for the cruise ship solution...no problem there either Barry - just tell them they can't tie up here any longer. Their small contribution to the local economy is insignificant and even the phony Campbell Tax doesn't apply to their fuels.
How come Barry, aren't you supposed to be the MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT?
Let’s review:
(1) Tax cuts to high earners, corporations and businesses haven’t increased productivity or investment.
(2) Failure to increase the minimum wage has led to more poverty and a general transfer of income to the rich.
(3) Carbon Tax runs a deficit while GHG emissions keep going up by close to 2% a year.
(4) Schools are in dire financial condition.
(5) Health districts are under funded
(6) Municipalities are broke.
(7)Total Provincial debt is increasing faster than ever.
(8) You’ve got a portable sniffer to demonstrate today outside the Legislature.
Nice stuff Barry. Nice stuff.
Toobad
2 years ago
Toxic Air
If there was a damning toxic air report,the chances are it would vanish!
I seem to recall the ministry of environment had reports about formaldehyde levels 20 times the maximum allowable Provincial average in Prince George...
But something happened, the damning reports about bad air in residential areas didn`t get reported,....The report was eventually made public,10 months later, and coincidently, 1 week after the May election.
The ministry is on the record as saying the readings were so high they considered the air tests were flawed, yet they didn`t bother to re-test.
And according to the law, it was supposed to be reported, all matters of public safety are supposed to be reported immediately...Sorry Mr. Penner..I don`t trust you!
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2010/03/gordon-campbell-ignored-laws-regarding.html
Ramona777
2 years ago
Cruise Ships are Evil on Water
Here it is Earth Day and we're worried about measuring the pollution from cruise ships. Get a grip.
Cruise ships should be banned. End of problem.
Not only do cruise ships pollute the air, what about all of the crap (literally and chemically) they dump in the water? The marine mammals and fish they kill?
The underpaid, ill-treated people they employ?
The tons of material that go into building them.
Heck, you could restore Haiti with the resources the cruise industry uses.
If ever there was a symbol of the waste we have wrought on the world, cruise ships would be right up there.
Toobad
2 years ago
More on the toxic air....
Reports that the ministry of environment ignored until after the election.
http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2010/03/gordon-campbell-turned-his-back-to.html
freebear
2 years ago
Is it a bullshit detector?
Would go off the charts at the legislature!
CanadianLatitude
2 years ago
Ban Cruise ships from
Ban Cruise ships from Vancouver just like smoking in the parks now. lol This city and province is a total joke...
Illahie
2 years ago
Cruise ships
Cruise ships normally run on some variant of Bunker C fuel. Bunker C is a residual product of the distillation of crude oil. When Cruise ships are maneuvering, or in port they switch to light diesel fuel, which has a lower environmental footprint, albeit at a substantially higher cost.
If Victoria was really concerned about Cruise Ship emissions, they could provide shore power access to these vessels.
It is a bit difficult, because marine power is weird in the first place and there are European and North American standards, but it could be done.
If Victoria was concerned about the problem, they could easily solve the problem.
G West
2 years ago
The people who have the problem
Are the people who LIVE in James Bay ...
You think the folks who want these tubs in town for five hour stints during the summer months aren't the folks who have to breathe the toxic shit the ships spew while they're here.
This issue was thoroughly vetted right here at Tyee some weeks ago.....
samantha raftery
2 years ago
what about water pollution
It amazes me that we still treat our oceans like toilets and our lands like garbage dumps and believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with these archaic ways of thinking!
The average Alaska-bound cruise ship generates about 28,000 gallons of sewage sludge during the seven-day jaunt from Seattle, according to port staff. From May to September of this year, 150 cruises are bound for Alaska from the Port of Seattle.
They will generate about 4.2 million gallons of sewage sludge. That's not even counting the 50-plus other cruise ships sailing through Seattle next year.
But what cruise spokesmen don't like to talk about is how -- after treating the raw sewage before discharging it into the sound -- most vessels store the concentrated waste that is left until they are 12 miles offshore and dump it into the ocean.
http://www.seattlepi.com/local/303063_cruise09.html