Those wacky environmentalists - The Lady Washington
From the
Seattle Times:
State's 'Pirates' ship too dirty for Calif.
Washington's official state ship, the venerable Lady Washington, is no longer welcome in California.
The 112-foot square-rigger, perhaps best-known as the ship hijacked by Jack Sparrow in the Disney film "Pirates of the Caribbean," normally spends its winters in California waters. Last winter, it hosted more than 70,000 visitors and took more than 7,000 California school kids sailing from California ports.
But not this year. Despite its 4,442 square feet of ever-so-green sail power, the Lady W also employs a 60-year-old diesel engine that fails to meet California's air-pollution standards.
"If they didn't run that engine, there wouldn't be a problem," explained Cherie Rainforth, a staffer at the California Air Resources Board.
Canceling the California voyages means no school trips, no tourist excursions and no ticket revenue for the nonprofit Grays Harbor Historic Seaport Authority, which depends on that income to keep the ship running.
What a pusillanimous little idiot -- sure, keeping a lid on air pollution is a good thing to do but for something as special as The Lady Washington, you issue a variance and get on with life. 70,000 visitors last year with 7,000 school kids having the adventure of their lives. You are tossing that out just because of some diesel exhaust.
Posted by DaveH at October 17, 2009 7:20 PM