The Last Ride on a Dinosaur?

[XLFD]

A State Senator who Doesn't Know Anything

I read a piece from a State Senator from Grand Ledge, Rick Jones, that surprised me, because it was something I have never heard before from the southern Michigan crowd that thinks the SS Badger is evil.  Surprisingly, Jones is a Republican that should support an enterprise that has a history of true economic growth for the areas it serves, but in this article:  State-Sen-Rick-Jones-asks-EPA-to-respect-Michigan-s-clean-water-laws  he comes out strongly against the Badger, citing very specific Michigan laws to back the EPA's decision:

“The Badger owners talk about going green while asking the federal government for another five years of special exemptions from Michigan law,” Jones said.

In the statement, Jones calls on the federal government to refrain from issuing any "discharge permit for the SS Badger that would result in a violation of our state’s criminal Great Lakes dumping ban."

Michigan law has banned dumping of all substances in the Great Lakes since the passage of the Watercraft Pollution Control Act of 1970, which prohibits the discharge of litter from water craft or commercial vessels. The act defines litter, in part, as waste material, debris or other "foreign substance of every kind and description.”

In 1979, the Michigan Supreme Court upheld the law, saying that “even the ash from an incinerator must be deposited onshore.''

“42 years of illegal Great Lakes dumping is enough time to adjust to market conditions and state laws," Jones said. “The SS Badger can stay in business for another 60 years by either capturing the coal or converting to a cleaner energy source as every other ship in the United States has already done. What it can’t do is thumb their nose at the rule of law.”

Honorable Senator Jones, you are a completely incompetent moron.  The state law you mention, the Watercraft Pollution Control Act of 1970, was completely repealed long ago Act 167 of 1970 , after the MI Supreme Court 1979 ruling that became irrelevant with the laws repealing.  If this was the eighties, you might have a point; as it it, you're trying to assist in the enforcement of a law which has spent around 20 years in a dumpster.

But the EPA still has the Federal Clean Water Act to interpret as they choose, and even though it was just revealed this last week that they have accepted the SS Badger's application for continued ferrying with the old rules in place, their ruling will not come from an unbiased courtroom, but a politicized government agency boardroom.

Riding on a Badger's Back

Be that as it may, me and the significant others-in-my-life took a mini-cruise on the SS Badger a little over a week ago.  Big ship, more fun is their motto, and we had the usual blast in the day and a half vacation across the channel and back.  Since this could be the Badger's last season, we made sure to take a bunch of pictures for posterity, and I include some of those here.  A brief summary of last year's cruise was  related here on the Torch.  But I have more pictures this time.

We got on board the SS Badger just before 9 AM and took a picture of her sister ship, the Spartan Spartan Aport before we took off, taking some pics of the lighthouse from a unique vantage:

Once you get out to the middle of the lake, there's a wide variety of things to do, whether it is watching a movie in the cineplex, shopping at the Badger Boutique, sunning on the foredeck, playing Badger Bingo with local celeb Todd Hansen, watching TV, eating food (pricy but good, plus you can bring your own), or just going to a quiet area and do your own thing with yourself and your family.  We did a variety of activities, winding up at the foredeck and took pics of the 'dancing mariner' that comes out close to Manitowoc:

Obviously from Wisconsin.  Well, you eventually get to see the port of Manitowoc on the horizon.  They also have a lighthouse which is a bit inferior to the Ludington one, I don't care where your loyalties lie:

The boys with the safety patrol jackets come up and tie this big ship (more fun) to the dock.  Today was special because there was a luxury cruiser in port for just a day docked at their Maritime Museum.  We disembarked, went up the roads, going past our favorite Budweiser factory, ate at our favorite chinese buffet, right next to our budget stayover, the local Econolodge.  This is right across from the police station and City Hall, with the municipal pools and I couldn't help but pose for this:

Before being banned by Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickles for an indefinite period for setting foot on that area.  I would use his name later on when the clerk asked me how I would like my 15 cents change.  Seriously, I have a lot of respect for Manitowoc's Mayor, who actually is that City's chief executive.  The youngster had her own time to pose with a local landmark in the downtown area.  Also in the downtown were spread a bunch of gay and festive pennants on the lampposts:

I happened to like more about these than Councilor Nick's useless gold-plated downtown signs in Ludington, at about a tenth of the price.  And, at least, these won't get you lost.  We always stop by the Rahr-West Museum on the way to the local zoo, to get some culture.  Here are some of my favorite artworks available this year:  Bottles   Crazy Colors  Swamp.   I always have to prudishly interpose myself when we go past the greek sculptures within, to annoy the child.

Sadly, they were doing some major work at the zoo, so we got a lesser effect than usual, though we did check out the monkey cage, and all the other animals like the black bear, timberwolf, bison, prairie dog, etc. exhibits.

The next day, we took a look at the submarine at the maritime museum, the dog park (on the way to the lighthouse), a bike path that went all the way to the nearest city, a YMCA, and some interesting architecture like this downtown building and this bank, which reminds me of our now-famous, but vacant, James Street bank.

Getting back on the boat, we saw the loading of turbine parts:

Shortly thereafter, we went back across the lake with a Coast Guard sendoff, we played a little bit on the boat, looking down and looking up, had some good luck playing Badger Bingo, when the youngster got a sailor's cap and took it to heart

But after a bunch of losses, I finally won the very last, and most important, game of Bingo, and got my own cap and restored pride.  We came back into town taking a look at the Old Coast Guard Station until finally getting ready to park.

If you've never experienced the Badger, make sure you take advantage of it before the end of the year.  It's no guarantee it will be around next year.  And we will have some idiot State Senator and misguided EPA members to thank for it.

[XLFD]

Also, if you go to the Carferry office in Ludington, there are a lot of brochures and pamphlets to direct you to what may interest you on the other side of the lake in Manitowoc, and surrounding areas.  And plenty for this side, as well.  You can leave at 9 AM in the morning and come back at 2 PM the next day (or at 1 AM the next day after during the summer double-crossing times) and get the mini-cruise discount.  With one night's motel stay included, you can take two adults and up to four kids under the age of 16 across and back for about $250.  meals and other entertainment not included.

Motorcycles travel at about half the rate of cars on the boat ($38), and bicycles are still only $6 to cross.

[CLFD]

I do not know what the issue is with coal ash. I think a couple of answers might shed some light on the issue.

How many tons of coal ash does the one carferry dump into Lake Michigan each year?

How many cubic feet per ton?