Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Screw you Badger

Ah, the good old SS Badger. The old ferry that takes cars from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, WI. The historic ship that needs to be granted exemptions from the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act so that the meddling Federal Government doesn't destroy a good old fashioned small business. So what if the Badger spews thick coal smoke and dumps 4 tons of toxic fly ash into Lake Michigan on each voyage? The government shouldn't be in the business of preventing private actors from destroying public goods. So what if the Badger is the last coal burning ship on the Great Lakes? So what if the owners are using the ships historical status as an excuse to not modernize? Isn't that what this country's all about? The ability of private interests to pervert the public process?

The Badger's permit to dump coal ash into Lake Michigan expired earlier this month, but from the sounds of this Journal Sentinel article, it looks like the company is hopeful that it will be granted a new waiver. I hope the EPA doesn't grant it a new permit.

Image via Ommnomnomgulp

7 comments:

  1. It's amazing how quickly Washington can move on something like this but close the Chicago canal and the main sort of Asian Carp....crickets.

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  2. I mean yeah, it sucks that the Badger owners can't come up with a solution to dumping ash into the Lake but of all the problems facing the lakes, her problem seems to be a minor one. I guess the folks that run the canal are a little better connected that the folks who run the Badger.

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  3. There's a non-profit called SOS that was trying to raise money to convert the ship to run on natural gas, but when I last checked their website, it seemed more focused on trying to extend the dumping waiver. Perhaps the conversion was more complicated and expensive than they originally thought.

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  4. I think the point of the natural gas conversion was that they could somewhat maintain her as a steamship. But I would imagine it's not a simple matter of putting the lines in and off you go. They could probably do what many Lakers do and covert to diesel but then they would lose her uniqueness as a steamship.

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  5. Your right, it's definitely not the biggest issue facing the lakes. I think it does a good job capturing the idea that some folks have that the Lakes are just there to pollute. Or I guess it's more the idea that it doesn't matter one way or the other whether the Lakes get damaged as long as folks are making money.

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  6. I will agree with you on that. I was actually hoping to get a ride on the Badger this year but it didn't work out. It looks like I should have made time for that because I don't think I'll get another chance.

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