Don’t Invite Cruise Ships

I am alarmed to hear that the city is allowing 22 cruise ships to enter and pollute our waters and that there was actually an effort to bring them here. How much value do you put on our beaches, the coastline, the channel, the marine mammals that call it their home? According to the article: approximately $200 per couple. Apparently enough for the city to risk the 168,000 gallons of sewage per day that they might “accidentally” dump into the channel. Is it worth it? I think not. The cruisers sleep on the ship so the hotels won’t benefit. They have all-you-can-eat buffets on board so they likely won’t spend that much money at the local restaurants. A few cheap souvenirs? Is it worth the risk? A giant cruise ship parked just outside the harbor is not a welcome sight for residents or other tourists who have come to Santa Barbara for the natural beauty and are actually contributing to the economy while protecting our coast.