They got it wrong. First off, I've been involved enough in the program north of the border to understand that ships must be painstakingly cleaned prior to sinking ... and a great deal of the recyclable material comes off before the ship is scuttled.
Second off, the jobs bit is a red herring ... our state just decommissioned three ferries, and they ended up towing them to Mexico ... which is where they'll be dismantled, in a country that has no environmental laws. The same thing happens to other decommissioned ships in Third World countries all over Asia and the South Pacific. Anybody who thinks these ships will end up creating recycling jobs in the USA is either kidding themselves or selling you something smelly.
I wonder who these people really work for ... and who really benefits from this act. Like everything our government does, the laws favor somebody who's putting money into the campaign coffers of career politicians ... usually at the expense of the public.
In this case, I really don't care ... I'll go spend my scuba dollars in Canada, diving their wrecks. I gave up on the hope that Washington state would see the light on that topic years ago.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
