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“Ahoy there, Carnival,” Post and Courier, March 14, 2012, editorial.

The non-profit Charleston Communities for Cruise Control has asked Carnival Cruise Lines questions that warrant some answers.

In Carnival Cruise Lines’ 2010 sustainability report, the company reports on its efforts to be a “good corporate citizen” and “preserve the fragile ecosystems upon which we are so dependent.” Cruise Control members want to know how Charleston fits into their plans.

For example, the report says “Carnival uses low-sulfur fuels voluntarily while cruising near environmentally sensitive as well as historical areas.” What about Charleston?

It says Carnival has voluntarily adopted environmental practices in Alaska, California and Hawaii in order to “reduce smog and health pollutants” and “preserve coastal water quality.” Shouldn’t the same be adopted here?

It says Carnival has committed to onshore power for ships calling at Long Beach, a measure that would alleviate air emissions here as well.

And the Carnival report says the cruise line aims to “contribute to the economic growth of the ports in which we operate through the taxes we pay, the jobs we create and the suppliers we support.”

Cruise Control is dedicated to achieving the appropriate balance between cruise ship operations in Charleston and the historic nature and quality of life in the city. As such, it wrote to Carnival requesting the cruise line adopt the same admirable practices in Charleston as it does in other areas. And a few more.

Don’t discharge gray water or incinerate garbage within 12 miles of shore. Since cruise lines do not pay taxes here as they do elsewhere, Carnival should “voluntarily pay an impact fee of $5 per passenger into a fund for community improvement.”

Also, support the local and state economy by purchasing provisions locally. Avoid making loud announcements and playing music outside while in port as the noise reverberates between buildings and is disturbing to the community.

Cruise Control would like Carnival to limit its presence here to two cruise ships a week — none with more than 3,000 passengers and crew.

You’d think Carnival would be interested in burnishing its image given its recent problems — one cruise ship running aground in Italy and another being towed into port after catching fire in the Indian Ocean.

But so far, Carnival has not responded to the Jan. 5 letter.

In an open system of government, corporations typically can be called to account by citizens — and their elected representatives. But the city and the State Ports Authority appear more interested in running interference for the cruise ship company on the regulatory front.

Indeed, no one at the SPA or on Charleston City Council — not the port director or the mayor — has yet responded to Charleston Communities for Cruise Control’s recent request for help convincing Carnival to use its best practices here.

It was partly out of a sense of frustration that several neighborhood, environmental and preservation groups in Charleston filed suit against Carnival, seeking answers in the courts. Cruise Control, incidentally, is not part of that lawsuit.

The questions raised by local critics shouldn’t be difficult to answer, and all who live or work in the area — including elected and appointed officials — should find an interchange of ideas worthwhile. Carnival has done the same for other ports.

Charleston deserves no less.

Why not shore-side power?, Post and Courier, March 8, 2012, editorial.

Cruise ship cheerleaders have labeled as misguided “snobs” those citizens who want cruise ships to be regulated in Charleston. They suggested that port jobs were being threatened.

The State Ports Authority and the City of Charleston have ignored or refused requests for enforceable limits on the number and size of cruise ships that visit Charleston and on the air emissions those ships produce.

Even Charleston City Council, elected to serve the best interests of citizens, shrugged its collective shoulders when asked to place such limits on cruise ships.

It will be interesting to see if City Council and the SPA revisit the issue if asked by the S.C. Medical Association. As noted by Dr. Stephen I. Schabel on our Commentary page, the SCMA is considering such a request. It would ask that the city of Charleston, the State Ports Authority, Carnival Cruise Lines and the S.C. General Assembly join with the Charleston County Medical Society and the SCMA “to enact forceable requirements for cruise ship use of onshore power rather than engine power while dockside.”

It is a reasonable and appropriate request. Dr. Schabel refers to ports as places at high risk for particulate emissions that are harmful to people’s health. Cruise ships, he says, spew four times the air emissions than cargo ships. While in port, they must keep air conditioning and lights on, so they keep their engines running.

But ports can — and many do — provide ships with access to electric shore-side power so they can turn off their engines and still operate. Those that do include Juneau, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada. Some have formed partnerships with utilities and municipalities to cover the cost of installing the shore-side power. Using it requires upfitting cruise ships too, but it costs less to use than running engines, and there are grants available to help cruise lines pay for the conversion.

Some issues are debatable. But the benefits of shore-side power are not: better air quality, fewer emissions that can damage people’s health, no odor and no noise.

The SPA and the City of Charleston might think those who want shore-side power are simply misguided, maybe even snobs, but scientific data say differently.

The people who live, work and visit Charleston deserve a break from cruise ships’ risky air emissions.

Copyright © 1995 – 2012 Evening Post Publishing Co..

 Reduce the risks of air pollution from cruise ships, Post and Courier, March 8, 2012, commentary.

One of the most important functions of the Charleston County Medical Society (CCMS) is to give citizens of the county advice on important issues relative to public health. In 2008 the CCMS proposed a resolution urging the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA) to support “the maximum feasible reduction of all forms of harmful air pollution, especially new and existing sources of toxic fine particle pollution.” This resolution was adopted by SCMA in 2008, but stalled in the Legislature. Since then the arrival of the cruise ship industry in Charleston Harbor has again brought the problem of port-related air pollution to our attention. Without shoreside power, docked cruise ships run their engines and further pollute the air. This is easily addressed.

After an extensive review of health data relative to the use of onshore power by docked cruise ships, the CCMS executive committee has asked the SCMA to take a stand.

Its proposed resolution acknowledges that the average cruise ship discharges four times the amount of airborne pollutants, especially sooty particulates, compared to the average cargo ship, thus affecting residents and visitors when ships continuously run their engines dockside for hours while passengers embark and disembark.

The effects of airborne pollutants have been shown to include increased chronic respiratory and heart diseases and increased cancer risk, especially among dockworkers, merchants and residents closest to the docks. That increases their health care costs.

The use of onshore power reduces airborne cruise ship pollutants by up to 90 percent and is used frequently by major U.S. cruise ports without appreciable economic loss to the cruise ship industry.

The American Medical Association supports reducing portside air pollutants and onshore power as does the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Lung Association and even the Cruise Lines Industry Association.

In light of that research, the Charleston County Medical Society is asking the South Carolina Medical Association, the City of Charleston, the State Ports Authority, Carnival Cruise Lines and the S.C. General Assembly to work together to enact enforceable requirements for cruise ships to use onshore power rather than engine power while dockside.

Our port facility is very near one of the most densely populated parts of our city. The added air pollution from cruise ship engines places an added health risk burden on those living and working near the port.

Many other port cities on both the East and West coasts have mandated the use of shore power for docked cruise ships out of concern for the health of their citizens. The CCMS believes Charleston should take this important step as well to safeguard the public health.

Stephen I. Schabel,M.D., is president of the Charleston County Medical Society.

Copyright © 1995 – 2012 Evening Post Publishing Co..

As published in Charleston Mercury, Lowcountry Rambler (front page, first column), March 6, 2012.

Cruise Noise Nearly Wakes the Dead

Meanwhile, several readers attended a
recent funeral and burial service at St.
Philip’s Church. As the rector and his associates
prayed by the graveside, the loud
echo of announcements from the cruise
terminal made it extremely difficult for
those attending to hear the men of the
cloth. Quality of life — and getting to the
afterlife — are clearly no longer sacred
when burials at the “Mother Church” and
loud speakers from the port coincide.

Task force should step it up, Post and Courier, February 28, 2012, editorial.

At the end of last week’s Peninsula Task Force meeting, one member offered a challenge to the group: We’ve lost     momentum. Let’s get back on track and take on the tough initiatives that we were charged with tackling.

What a great idea.

When Mayor Joe Riley and Historic Charleston Foundation Director Kitty Robinson teamed up more than a year and a half ago to establish the task force, the issues that were on people’s minds were difficult:

What do we do about traffic on peninsula Charleston? Bicycles? Hotels adjacent to residential areas? How do we preserve neighborhoods and maintain diversity? What about cruise ships, affordable housing? The general “delicate balance” of tourism, business and livability for residents?

The task force with members from neighborhood associations, businesses, the port, environmental interests, preservation organizations, the College of Charleston and the tourism industry, rather quickly hit a snag: There seemed no resolving the divide on the issue of cruise ships, so the topic was shelved.

Certainly the task force did some good work assessing how people get around the peninsula and how to ease congestion. Some recommendations regarded bicycles, buses, pedicabs and walking. As a result, the city added bike parking in key places downtown. Some free bus service was made available. And King Street is closed to vehicles one Sunday a month so people can shop, stroll and have lunch.

Still, on Friday members spoke about the greater number of proposals that have languished.

The elephant in the room is cruise ships. Indeed, it was after the Historic Charleston Foundation engaged Miley and Associates to do an independent evaluation of the impact of cruise ships (which have enthusiastic support from the mayor) that the monthly meetings stopped happening.

Now that the Historic Charleston Foundation has received results of the study, and the meetings have recommenced, the task force should try again.

Jim Newsome, president of the State Ports Authority, is a member of the committee, as are people who live nearby, people whose businesses might be affected by cruise passengers and environmentalists. Failing to use their collective wisdom, information and experience would be shortchanging the city and its residents.

Skeptics have wondered from the start of the committee if it would be yet another group to meet, talk and recommend — without making a substantial difference.

This is not the time for the group to shrink from tough issues facing the peninsula.

Copyright © 1995 – 2012 Evening Post Publishing Co..

The Carnival Fantasy took off from the Charleston port on Monday and some local restaurants are noticing business isn’t booming when the cruise ship is in town.

Days when cruise passengers get on and off the Carnival Fantasy are very busy down at the Port of Charleston. Passengers say they were just excited to get onboard, but some local restaurants are feeling the impact of these turn around days more than others.

Eighty-four cruise ships are scheduled to visit Charleston this year, bringing in thousands of tourists to the holy city.

But out of the 84, only 14 will call on Charleston as a port of call. The remaining 70 are turn around days for the Carnival Fantasy.

“On days like today when it’s Carnival, as you can see we’re starting slow and they’ll trickle in and it won’t be the same impact as a port of call,” said Richard Coleman, manager of the Noisy Oyster.

Coleman says when the Carnival Fantasy is in town, business for him slows down.

A recent report commissioned by the Historic Charleston Foundation says many tourists spending money in the holy city are not cruise ship passengers at all.

Another study by the College of Charleston shows nearly $37 million annually will come into the Charleston area as a result of the cruise ship industry and that 400 jobs will be created.

Some restaurant managers also say road closures near the cruise terminal have an affect on business, especially with locals coming to visit.

Copyright WCSC 2012. All rights reserved.
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