Port Activists Want to Stop U.S. Coal Export Terminal

Activists in Washington State are attempting to repel a threat from outside their borders – from Montana, to be specific. Late last month, Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-Mont.) left “Big Sky Country” to visit Longview, Washington and promote the construction of a new coal export facility there, on the Pacific coast.  Why?  So that coal companies can sell Montanan coal to the Chinese.  Proponents of the project insist that helping Montana send coal to China is somehow a boon for Washington State.  Such a claim warrants further investigation.

The export facility proposed by Millennium Bulk Logistics will create 71 permanent jobs in Longview, Washington.  The site’s current tenant, Chinook Ventures, already employs about 50 people.  So let’s put 21 new jobs in the “pro” category (plus 120 temporary construction jobs).  That’s about it on the plus side.

Now let’s examine the negatives.

Transporting upwards of five million tons of coal annually has impacts on a local community that range from the inconveniences of increased traffic to more serious hazards such as air pollution. Coal dust is a well-known health risk (and also explosive suspended in the air, but that’s not a likely event).  This operation would also threaten fish and wildlife in and around the nearby Columbia River.

Those are just the transportation concerns.  They do not take into account the horrendous pollution involved in coal mining and the heartbreaking human toll that mining pollution and accidents take upon workers and nearby communities.

Also, you may have heard by now that actually burning the coal causes more pollution. Coal plants are responsible for local pollution like acid rain, but they also emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, and greenhouse gases are a global pollutant.  So when we export our coal, we risk American lives in mines, shoulder the burden of mining pollution, and accelerate global climate change without even the modest benefit of the electricity that coal can generate.

Add that to the risks of transporting coal, and exporting coal doesn’t make sense, especially not for Longview, Washington.  That’s not worth 21 jobs.

A coalition of local conservation and clean energy groups has successfully appealed the facility’s initial approval by Cowlitz County commissioners. Fortunately, Gov. Chris Gregoire (D-Wash.) has not yet made up her mind about this project. So sign this petition to tell Gov. Gregoire that a handful of jobs is not worth putting Longview at risk and besmirching Washington State’s exemplary environmental record to date.

It is important to remember that we do not have nationalized energy companies – American energy companies pledge allegiance to their stockholders, not to our flag.  What’s good for them is not necessarily what’s good for us.  With frequent talk of America’s looming energy crises and dependence on foreign fuel imports, it may be surprising to hear about how much energy we export.  In 2009, the U.S. exported 10.38 trillion pounds of coal and 738 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum products.

Coal, in fact, is one of the least efficient and most polluting ways to power our modern society. But because polluters don't pay the costs of their destruction, coal also happens to be cheap. So until we make long overdue upgrades to our energy infrastructure and environmental regulations, we will continue to burn coal to keep the lights on.

Yet one thing is clear: exporting coal does not help our country.

Sign the petition below to tell Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire to take a stand against the Longview export terminal.

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Photo credit: Sam Beebe via Flickr