Lighthouse Point in the Bahamas is framed by limestone cliffs overlooking turquoise waters and sugar-sand beaches. This southernmost tip of the island of Eleuthera, one of the world’s most magical natural places, it overlooks an ocean passageway for fish, sharks, whales, and marine mammals. The sea near Lighthouse Point, home to fragile reefs with stands of rare and endangered staghorn coral, is so biologically rich that it has been formally proposed as a Marine Protected Area.
But The Walt Disney Co. is rushing ahead—without a publicly available environmental impact assessment—to begin building a massive private cruise ship port with a half-mile-long pier, a marina, and facilities for hundreds of ship visits and millions of visitors each year. Lighthouse Point, an irreplaceable spot, would be lost, and its rich seas degraded and polluted.
More 250,000 people expressed their support on our first Change.org petition launched last July.
Saving Lighthouse Point is even more urgent after climate-charged Hurricane Dorian devastated the northern Bahamas in September. Marine Protected Areas are essential to maintaining the health of the oceans in a changing climate. Disney should be a partner with us in supporting the proposed Lighthouse Point Marine Protected Area, not degrading it.
Tell Disney CEO Bob Iger that there are plenty of other places in the Bahamas where his cruise line can dock its ships, but there is only one Lighthouse Point. Ask Mr. Iger to work with us to make Lighthouse Point a beacon of hope for the future of The Bahamas, the oceans, and the world.
*Photo by Shane Gross @shanegrossphoto
