20 Aug Organizations Come Together to Urge Port of Seattle to Transition Away From Toxic Cruise Ships

Over two dozen organizations and grassroots groups have sent a letter to Port of Seattle Commissioners and staff outlining the reasons to end our toxic relationship with the cruise ship industry and transition to a cruise-free Salish Sea.

“As one of the fastest-growing sources of climate pollution in the world, corporate cruise ships have no place in the just and livable future we are trying to build. The cruise industry continues a legacy of environmental destruction driven by colonial greed for profit, ultimately wreaking havoc on marginalized human and greater-than-human ecosystems. In acknowledgment and defense of all sacred life, it is our imperative to end extractive relationships with the cruise ship industry and transition to a cruise-free Salish Sea.” – Priya Judge, Coalition Coordinator for Power Past Fracked Gas

“Tourism should not come at the cost of serious health impacts to the communities being visited, or at the expense of irreversible climate damage and the health impacts that result,” says Nick Manning, Climate Program Coordinator at Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. “We are also concerned about the physical and mental health of onboard workers, many of whom work long hours, seven days a week, for months at a time without workplace protections from abuse or harassment, all while breathing in the toxic smokestack emissions.”

“These massive, polluting ships have no place in the Salish Sea. They spew toxic,  climate damaging emissions in the air while dumping sewage, engine waste, and plastic trash in our sacred waters,” reflects Pamela Bond, Snohomish Tribal Member and founder of Salish Sea Environmental Education and Action. “We should be restoring these waters and doing everything we can to protect our struggling salmon and shellfish and endangered blackfish relatives, and to do that we need to stop poisoning them.”