PHOENIX, AZ (By Jon Garrido,
Act AZ) March 20, 2006
The Polar ice cap is melting at an accelerated rate
according to the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. Much
of the summer ice will disappear by 2050, according to Marika Holland, a
scientist working on the sea-ice portion of that model.
The most that can be expected, some climate scientists say, is to limit the
human contribution to warming enough to forestall the one truly calamitous, if
slow motion, threat in the far north: the melting of Greenland's ice cap.
Rising two miles high and spreading over an area twice the size of California,
this vast reservoir - essentially the Gulf of Mexico frozen and flipped onto
land - contains enough water to
raise sea levels worldwide more than 20 feet.
In
addition, warming of the oceans will intensify hurricanes and extend the season
from June through November in the Gulf of Mexico disabling port operations
resulting in international trade seeking safer ports.
Today, the Sea of Cortez is 20 miles southwest of Arizona. The demise of the
polar ice cap will bring the Pacific Ocean into Arizona and will enable Arizona
to facilitate an opportunity to become a player in the U.S. intermodal
transportation system by adding marine transportation through a new port on the
Pacific side of the Americas and at the upper end of the Sea of Cortez.
Even
with without raising sea levels, Arizona's access to the Sea of Cortez working
with the Mexican government could bring economic development to northwest Mexico
and southwest Arizona.
The mouth of the Colorado River flows into the Sea of Cortez.
The area between the United States and Mexico south of San Luis to the Sea of
Cortez is 20 miles of marshes that by dredging could provide a deep channel to
port facilities; however, the flow of the Colorado River
as controlled by US Federal agencies determines the depth and at times may leave the entrance into the Sea of Cortez without water sufficient to enable
tankers to navigate.
For
this reason, the Port of Yuma is moving forward to structure an inland port as
modeled by eastern seaboard ports.
Mexico is
also embarking on establishing a port on the Sea of Cortez and an announcement
will be forthcoming later this year.
The prime
factor in success wherever a port is located is contingent upon back haul.
Cargo users will not use any Sea of Cortez port if once the containers are
disembarked there are no containers to load to be hauled back to point of origin
or points in between.
For this
reason, Amermart will focus on locating US manufactures in an
industrial park located on the America side of the US Mexico border. Without
this major component, the use of the Sea of Cortez will not materialize.
A new
major international trade port for Mexico located in close proximity to Arizona
will provide for thousands of Mexican port construction jobs with high wages and
will enable construction workers to move not only into port operations but also
to new Mexican companies providing support to port operations.
This
could achieve a multiplier of 5 creating jobs in housing, school and retail
construction.
The
boom in port facilities in Mexico with a U.S. Foreign Trade Zone in Arizona
along the Mexican border would facilitate international trade with Latin
America.
The
proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas may be years away but already most
member nations located on the Pacific side have entered into
bilateral trade agreements with the United States and Latin
Ameirca. It is this corridor that
would be the prime engine to move containers through the Arizona/Sonora port
into Arizona where trade items could then be distributed primarily throughout
the southwest but also throughout the western United States. In times of
hurricanes, this distribution network would expand to provide traffic to areas
that were previously served by the Gulf of Mexico ports.
A sea
port at the Sea of Cortez could have an significant economic impact on Arizona
by enabling Arizona to become part of annually moving more than 15 billion tons
of freight with a total value of over $9.1 trillion. As trade volumes increase,
the capacity of America's total intermodal transportation system must also
increase in order to maintain our nation's economy. The Arizona/Sonora port
could position itself to become an integral part of this trade.
While domestic waterborne
trade is expected to grow modestly, U.S. international container traffic is
projected to at least double from 2001 to 2020 according to the June 2005 Report
to Congress on the Performance of Ports and the Intermodal System submitted by
the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration.
Nowhere will this pressure be felt more than at
U.S. ports, which serve as gateways for both commercial and military cargo. This
proposed port could provide access to the Military facilities located in the
Yuma area.
Since
the advent of containerization in the early 1960's, ports have had to keep up
with significant evolving changes in vessel and shore side infrastructure needs.
Container vessel capacities have grown TEU+ (A "TEU" is a standard "Twenty Foot
Equivalent Unit" steel ocean shipping container) ships to over 8,000 TEU's and
next generation containerships with capacities of 9,000+TEUs are already under
contract. Private sector railroads, addressing supply chain competition and
ports' needs to accommodate commercial and military cargo simultaneously, have
employed double stacked trains. Double stacked trains require larger facilities
for increased rail traffic.
Introduction of new terminal technologies that enhance and improve just in time
delivery processes within the nation's supply chain, a projected doubling of
throughput on the system, providing needed maintenance on the current system
will require flexibility and massive new investments in intermodal
transportation infrastructure.
There
are other factors to be considered in assessing the Arizona/Senora port
feasibility. The major task is to find infrastructure funding. The World Banks
Mexican Office was contacted on March 16, 2005. A written scope of the
undertaking was requested. Most importantly, Mexican approvals would have to be
obtained. Former associates in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico and owners of the largest
industrial park in Mexico were contacted on March 16. Preliminary interest is
positive. The participation of the Mexican government would be left to the
Mexicans.
A major
hurdle may be the use of the Sea of Cortez by whales. Fortunately, San Ignacio
Lagoon, Baja California Sur is located on the Pacific side of Baja California.
If the
port was within the United States, a preliminary environmental assessment would
be required leading to an environment impact statement (EIS). I do not know
today the requirements in Mexico but I do know there are many Mexican agencies
involved in the Sea of Cortez.
A few
examples of other factors that affect throughput and performance are summarized
below:
