March 18, 1998

Will we allow our ship to come in, or just wave it off?

I've figured out the perfect way to have stopped World War II in its tracks. The Coastal Commission! Local, state, and national bureaucracies! Between them they could have wrapped up the war so tight in layers upon layers of red tape that nothing would have moved.

The Japanese would have been forbidden to sink any ships. Pearl Harbor would never have happened.

Henry Kaiser would have had to figure out alternatives to all the substances he used in those hundreds of cargo ships. He would have finished the first Liberty Ship about 1981.

Rules! Regulations! EIRs! What a concept!

Like the little kid who gets busted for offering a breath mint to a classmate, Pacifica can't move rapidly, with an innovative plan, even in this emergency time on Esplanade, for fear we might violate somebody's rules. We've been offered a seawall free. It's close to a thousand feet long, 140 feet high. It would slope smoothly on the ocean side, be flat and steep facing the land.

It consists of a double wall of armor plate, and is designed to withstand torpedoes. Actually it's the aircraft carrier Oriskany, a World War II ship that was decommissioned in the 1970's and is currently a classic white elephant. It would be filled with foam, as in styrofoam, the very strong kind out of which they make boat bumpers, not coffee cups. The foam would keep problems inside, and visitors outside. This huge ship is currently sitting over in Vallejo, just waiting for Pacifica authorities to say the word.

The word 'Free' is relative. It will cost some money to take out the toxics aboard the aircraft carrier. It will cost a substantial amount to fill the ship full of dense foam. It will take a considerable amount of concrete to unbalance the ship and roll it on its side. The three tugs pushing it sideways into place will involve some expense. However, in relative terms, it is free. And the money needed should be available from FEMA. It's a win-win-win situation for all concerned, especially those property owners on Esplanade who have gone through so much lately.

After it is put in place, the space between the ship and the cliff would be filled with rock and dirt. It could actually create some new land, or at least land where there hasn't been land for 40 or 50 years.

As it is now, the new seawall being emplaced will not last many years, any more than the last one did. The Oriskany, designed with torpedoes and enemy bombers in mind, will take a century or more to disintegrate. It is definitely not biodegradable. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to taking advantage of this marvelous opportunity is fear of the unknown. It's never been done before around here, though it has been done elsewhere. It sounds too good to be true. We've all heard that there is no free lunch, and cynically, we have to look for reasons why it won't work.

However, there are also times when we have to jump at opportunity when it presents itself. Surplus aircraft carriers are not a dime a dozen. This is literally a unique opportunity. Once it gets away or is dismissed, it will never come our way again.

Some recent Reactor columns may be found at Paul Azevedo's new website, http://www.thereactor.net/ You may reach him by e-mail at Paul@thereactor.net