USS America to be sunk off East Coast

On Mon, 07 Mar 2005 17:04:11 +0100, Rob van Riel
wrote:

OK, I'm quite willing to take your word for that, but then I must ask,
where is the environmental cost of scrapping them? I mean, if you leave
them at the bottom long enough, whatever comes out of the ships during
scrapping would also come out during decay. What am I missing?

The "administrative cost" of environmental cleanup can be truly
massive, even if the actual cost is not. You also have the liability
exposure if some dim dot chooses to act stupidly with materials they
know, or ought to know, are dangerous. Putting the whole thing on the
bottom solves all the problems. You can disolve a whole lot of stuff
in a few billion cubic yards of water.

And it's not like there's going to be some problem with accumulation
over time. We can't do it but thre or four times, total.

America was my last ship and I'd sure rather see her go this way that
under a cutting torch .

I agree. It might be more logical to recycle the lot of them, but this has
to do with human emotion, and logic has no business in that arena.

It might be more logical to recycle, then maybe it's not. "Logic" in
this case is probably synonomous with "dollars."

Bill Kambic

In article et,
"D" wrote:

I just read in Defense News that the carrier USS America is going to be sunk
in tests off the East Coast of the US. They will detonate various
explosives aboard her to determine how much damage she takes.

This is a travesty. They should tie up this ship next to some
major city, and use it for housing homeless people. An aircraft
carrier can hold 5000 or more people when sailing, so it should
be no big deal to house 1000 homeless people, plus have deck
space for another 500 tents. After all, the ship has all the
living facilities like bunks, state rooms, plumbing, bathing,
kitchens, cafeterias, etc. It is a shame to let such a valuable
resource be destroyed like this.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

"John A. Weeks III" wrote in
:

In article et,
"D" wrote:

I just read in Defense News that the carrier USS America is going to
be sunk in tests off the East Coast of the US. They will detonate
various explosives aboard her to determine how much damage she takes.

This is a travesty. They should tie up this ship next to some
major city, and use it for housing homeless people. An aircraft
carrier can hold 5000 or more people when sailing, so it should
be no big deal to house 1000 homeless people, plus have deck
space for another 500 tents. After all, the ship has all the
living facilities like bunks, state rooms, plumbing, bathing,
kitchens, cafeterias, etc. It is a shame to let such a valuable
resource be destroyed like this.

Who pays for the conversions to meet basic fire codes? Who pays for the
required environmental cleanup? Who pays to staff it? Who pays for the
continued maintenance?

The USS Midway is currently docked at Navy Pier here in San Diego. It
required the expenditure of well over a million dollars to get it to its
present condition, and would require a lot more to get to a condition
where what you are proposing would be feasible.

I fear that such a project would quickly turn into a floating Cabrini
Green, for similar reasons, the foremost of which is lack of "pride of
ownership", somebody else's property, someone else's problems.

Dave in San Diego

"John A. Weeks III" wrote in message
...
In article et,
"D" wrote:

I just read in Defense News that the carrier USS America is going to be
sunk
in tests off the East Coast of the US. They will detonate various
explosives aboard her to determine how much damage she takes.

This is a travesty. They should tie up this ship next to some
major city, and use it for housing homeless people. An aircraft
carrier can hold 5000 or more people when sailing, so it should
be no big deal to house 1000 homeless people, plus have deck
space for another 500 tents. After all, the ship has all the
living facilities like bunks, state rooms, plumbing, bathing,
kitchens, cafeterias, etc. It is a shame to let such a valuable
resource be destroyed like this.


And who exactly is going to pay for the maintenance, running costs,
security, utilities and harbour space ?

If you want an accomodation hulk a disused liner or cruise ship
is a FAR better bet and much more cost effective, better yet
any offshore yard will build one on a barge pretty quickly
and it'll be FAR cheaper than refurbishing and making safe
a CV which will definitely NOT meet the safety requirements
imposed by any fire department in the USA.

Keith

In article ,
Dave in San Diego wrote:

"John A. Weeks III" wrote in
:

In article et,
"D" wrote:

I just read in Defense News that the carrier USS America is going to
be sunk in tests off the East Coast of the US. They will detonate
various explosives aboard her to determine how much damage she takes.

This is a travesty. They should tie up this ship next to some
major city, and use it for housing homeless people. An aircraft
carrier can hold 5000 or more people when sailing, so it should
be no big deal to house 1000 homeless people, plus have deck
space for another 500 tents. After all, the ship has all the
living facilities like bunks, state rooms, plumbing, bathing,
kitchens, cafeterias, etc. It is a shame to let such a valuable
resource be destroyed like this.

Who pays for the conversions to meet basic fire codes? Who pays for the
required environmental cleanup? Who pays to staff it? Who pays for the
continued maintenance?

Who pays for everything else in America? Government and faith-based
charities.

The USS Midway is currently docked at Navy Pier here in San Diego. It
required the expenditure of well over a million dollars to get it to its
present condition, and would require a lot more to get to a condition
where what you are proposing would be feasible.

That cost is a drop in the bucket compared with the war in Iraq.
It is also small compared to the crime and vandalism that currently
happens to and due to people being homeless.

I fear that such a project would quickly turn into a floating Cabrini
Green, for similar reasons, the foremost of which is lack of "pride of
ownership", somebody else's property, someone else's problems.

So, you are in favor of letting homeless people freeze to death
sleeping under freeway overpasses and in rail yards in the harsh
cold winter climates in the northern lattitudes?

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

Keith W wrote:
If you want an accomodation hulk a disused liner or cruise ship
is a FAR better bet and much more cost effective, better yet
any offshore yard will build one on a barge pretty quickly
and it'll be FAR cheaper than refurbishing and making safe
a CV which will definitely NOT meet the safety requirements
imposed by any fire department in the USA.

Oh, it could, but before anyone could move aboard, you'd first have
to send them (all 5000 residents) to basic firefighting school, then
have recurrent training such as "general quarters" at least once a
week and a main space fire drill about once a month...

Yeah, and then if they start getting uppity about living conditions,
you can float the whole shebang out to sea some night and use it for a
Shootex! Right, Weeks? That's a great idea you had there.

John A. Weeks III wrote to Dave:
So, you are in favor of letting homeless people freeze to death
sleeping under freeway overpasses and in rail yards in the harsh
cold winter climates in the northern lattitudes?

I thought that your earlier post was one of the most ill-thought-out
things I'd read in 15 years on Usenet...until I read this.
--
Noah

"John A. Weeks III" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Dave in San Diego wrote:

"John A. Weeks III" wrote in
:

In article et,
"D" wrote:

I just read in Defense News that the carrier USS America is going to
be sunk in tests off the East Coast of the US. They will detonate
various explosives aboard her to determine how much damage she takes.

This is a travesty. They should tie up this ship next to some
major city, and use it for housing homeless people. An aircraft
carrier can hold 5000 or more people when sailing, so it should
be no big deal to house 1000 homeless people, plus have deck
space for another 500 tents. After all, the ship has all the
living facilities like bunks, state rooms, plumbing, bathing,
kitchens, cafeterias, etc. It is a shame to let such a valuable
resource be destroyed like this.

Who pays for the conversions to meet basic fire codes? Who pays for the
required environmental cleanup? Who pays to staff it? Who pays for the
continued maintenance?

Who pays for everything else in America? Government and faith-based
charities.

The USS Midway is currently docked at Navy Pier here in San Diego. It
required the expenditure of well over a million dollars to get it to its
present condition, and would require a lot more to get to a condition
where what you are proposing would be feasible.

That cost is a drop in the bucket compared with the war in Iraq.
It is also small compared to the crime and vandalism that currently
happens to and due to people being homeless.


So campaign for public housing, hell it would be cheaper to
pay their rent at a local Motel than refurbish a CV as
an accomodation ship.


Keith



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

....Not to mention teaching them all of the petty "survival" tricks and
cultural understanding needed to thrive on shipboard, such as (for example):

* Water hours.
* Smoking lamp.
* Visiting the seabat.
* Mail buoy watches.
* Knowing when potable water is available from the scuttlebutt (and
conversely, knowing when you could refill your Zippo from the same source).
* Enjoying the Nth rerun of the same movie.

Etc.

--
Mike Kanze

"One phrase that no Member of Congress should ever use lightly is 'political
hack.' The ironic possibilities are too rich."

- Wall Street Journal (3/7/05)




"Jim Carriere" wrote in message
...
Keith W wrote:
If you want an accomodation hulk a disused liner or cruise ship
is a FAR better bet and much more cost effective, better yet
any offshore yard will build one on a barge pretty quickly
and it'll be FAR cheaper than refurbishing and making safe
a CV which will definitely NOT meet the safety requirements
imposed by any fire department in the USA.

Oh, it could, but before anyone could move aboard, you'd first have to
send them (all 5000 residents) to basic firefighting school, then have
recurrent training such as "general quarters" at least once a week and a
main space fire drill about once a month...