Well known Cayman Islands photographer Courtney Platt has walked with other concerned citizens some of the media paths to inform them of “death plume”.

Speaking on CITN/Cayman27 Platt said, “The death plume will spread and kill almost everything in the harbour.”

He was pointing to the information contained in the recently published EIA on the government’s proposed cruise berthing project.

“Once you learn how severe the negative impacts will be, especially to our reef and how widespread this will be… It’s not a small area, it’s the entire harbour that’s at stake and it’s permanent.”

Platt, along with Keith Sahm, General Manager of Sunset House, has spearheaded a campaign called “Save Cayman” that they hope will make the people of Cayman fight the good fight with all their might and force a People Initiated Referendum (PIR) to put a stop once and for all for the cruise ship berthing project in George Town Harbour.

The campaign website www.savecayman.org was launched Monday and the grass roots group will be promoting their campaign across the local media. Well some of the media here.

Only registered voters can sign the petition to Save Campaign that is available online at: www.SaveCayman.org.

Like myself, Platt has urged the public to examine the EIA Report carefully, and it certainly does point out some frightening warnings.

Once again the government has, in my opinion, not given the public enough time to send feedback to them about the cruise ship berthing proposal with the deadline already looming – FRIDAY 3rd JULY.

Whether the Save Campaign will be able to get the number of votes they need to force a PIR remains to be seen. They will need almost 4,750 signatures on the petition.

The government campaigned in the general election for the cruise ship berthing facility to be constructed in George Town Harbour. They are going through that process now.

At least we know the Pros and Cons. With the past McKeeva Bush led government and their plans to go to bed with the Chinese they would have, if the UK hadn’t stepped in, already started the project in the exact spot it is mooted now. Transparency was not on any agenda then. Of course Bush is now saying he has changed his mind about the location. Surprise. Surprise.

So far government has received around 140 written responses to the EIA.

I expect a lot more response to the PIR Save Cayman. Whether it will reach anything like the near 5,000 they require is open to how much the organisers can promote their case. And if they do get enough that is only the first hurdle.

So far to me opinions are divided and I cannot say on what side.

Equally one can argue if we don’t have a cruise ship berthing facility in George Town the Capital will die and if we don’t get one soon the country may die altogether.

Cuba is waiting.

Bigger ships will not come here.

It’s all a bit like the chicken and egg. What came first?

In our case – we need tourists to come and see our beautiful reefs that may not be here anymore.

We may have beautiful reefs but no tourists to appreciate them.

So who do we Save Cayman from?