PORT EXPANSION: GOOD OR BAD?

PORT EXPANSION: GOOD OR BAD?

Here is a humdinger of a blog, about a very important subject, the deepening of the seaport channel at Port Everglades and the controversy surrounding that. It is also a 2 for 1 blog which shows a stark contract in how our local newspapers see and report this issue. SO fasten your seatbelts! Just look at the titles of the articles which appeared on the same day from the Palm Beach Post and the Sun Sentinel. The Post article is called Army Corps Withdraws Permit Application for Port of Palm Beach while the Sentinel's article was entitled Dredging Law Lauded By All Sides. It is a really interesting situation with starkly different viewpoints. One the one side (The Post) are the people against the port expansion. They argue that it will damage the environment, not be worth the investment ($360 million dollars according to the Post and $88 million according to the Post! That is a huge discrepancy!) and disrupt the way of life for local residents with all the proposed increase of traffic. On the other (The Sun Sentinel) is the argument that it will create jobs, and expand our economy by allowing more trade. That is partially the result of the widening of the Panama Canal. Regardless of what side you take, the fact is that the project is being delayed to further study the environmental impact, as a result of the opposition. Specifically the concerns are partly for the damage to the ocean floor and seagrasses, and also the killing of manatees, and the destruction of coral reefs. That would hurt the businesses that use those things now like fishermen, boaters, scuba divers, snorkeling, etc. They also argue that it would increase the risk of flooding to both homes and businesses in the vicinity of the Lake Worth Lagoon. I think this expansion is going to happen for sure, there is simply too much money at stake and lots of jobs. While politicians need to be wary of opposition from local residents with project, money is ultimately the deciding factor. We will see what happens soon but even if it is approved it will not take place until 2018 at the earliest. As always thanks for reading and have a great day.