Cruise Ship Pollution

I am seriously concerned about the cruise ships that have been visiting Santa Barbara and the ones scheduled for the remainder of the year. Aside from the air pollution factor, which is a different subject, I was shocked to read that the cruise ships seem to be polluting the waters directly offshore from us. The reports from Santa Barbara Channelkeeper are outrageous.

I was born and raised here, and my family on both sides dates back generations. I grew up at Hendry’s Beach on the Mesa and virtually lived in the ocean most of my youth. My children live here now. There must be consequences to cruise ships polluting our waters. At a minimum, there needs to be a substantial fine, money that can then be used to clean the waters as best as possible. But even more importantly, any ship found violating the rules and polluting our waters must be forever banned from returning.

I am not sure what the community response has been to this information since it was released, but I am outraged and worried for the future of Santa Barbara and our oceans in general. My dad, brother, and I grew up in the ocean at Hendry’s Beach, bodysurfing and surfing. My children love the ocean themselves. My now 23-year-old daughter is studying at University of Hawaii to become a marine scientist to help work towards conservation of the ocean and all of the incredible ocean life.

If you visit the Friends of the Earth website, out of 18 cruise lines evaluated, 10 of them have F grades and 5 have D grades! That is an absurd number.

This is not just about Santa Barbara, although many of us who live here, I am sure, are passionate about this problem. It is also about the integrity and preservation of our ocean, which is in and of itself critical to the survival of all of us and our children.

I am not sure where to go from here as I have my own law firm and am not usually politically active, but this issue needs more dissemination and a vigorous defense to what is happening.