NWF Members Say “More Orcas! No Coal!”

Peter LaFontaine — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:33:32 +0000

Cherry Point, Washington, site of a proposed coal export terminal (photo: Paul Anderson)

Recently we told you about the threat coal poses to endangered Orcas and other wildlife in the Pacific Northwest. More than 1,800 of you took it to heart and signed our petition to prevent construction of coal terminals along the Oregon and Washington coasts, and other groups in the “Power Past Coal” coalition added to our record haul of forty thousand signatures. The petition was delivered this week to the Commissioner of Public Lands for Washington state, Peter Goldmark, who is a key decision-maker on whether or not these dirty projects move forward.

Not a moment too soon. The coal industry has just officially applied to export coal from the mouth of the Columbia River–the terminal, at Longview, WA, would be the gateway for at least 44 million tons of coal each year, bound for India and China.

Considering that the entire United States currently exports only 74 million tons, the Longview project (if built) would be a major, major setback in the fight for clean air, clean water, and environmental protection. Other proposed terminals at Cherry Point, Grays Harbor, Port of St. Helens, Coos Bay, and the Port of Morrow could push coal exports to nearly 200 million tons annually.

Exports: Sacrificing American Landscapes for a Foreign Market

Coal mining in the Powder River Basin has destroyed vast stretches of habitat for animals like mule deer (photo: C.V. Vick)

Arch Coal, Peabody Energy, and the industry’s other mega-corporations may have targeted Asia as their latest battleground, but they have no problem wrecking American landscapes and American communities to get what they want. Already, huge areas of the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana have become industrial “sacrifice zones” to feed demand for cheap coal.

Export projects are a sign of how desperate the coal industry is to keep their fat profits rolling in. Coal usage in the US has declined in recent years as electric utilities transition to natural gas, wind, and other sources of energy — and thanks to a sustained effort by conservationists to limit the construction of new coal-fired power plants.

And economists agree that coal isn’t part of the equation:

“Coal is a dead man walkin’,” says Kevin Parker, global head of asset management and a member of the executive committee at Deutsche Bank. “Banks won’t finance them. Insurance companies won’t insure them. The EPA is coming after them. . . . And the economics to make it clean don’t work.”

Coal trains -- like this one near the North Antelope Rochelle Mine in Wyoming -- can be over a mile and a half long, belching diesel emissions and toxic coal dust as they rumble through wildlife habitat and human communities (photo: Kimon Berlin)

Quotes like that scare the pants off Big Coal, because taking on underdog environmental groups is a lot easier than arguing with the banks that lend them money.

Petitions are one thing; action is another. NWF and the rest of the Power Past Coal coalition are mobilizing citizens in the Pacific Northwest to take on this challenge head-on. The fight begins in earnest later this spring, so stay tuned for the latest news and ways to get involved.

To learn more about coal exports visit NWF.org

The post NWF Members Say “More Orcas! No Coal!” appeared first on The National Wildlife Federation Blog.

This Coal-Train is no Jazz Saxophonist

Patricia Tillmann — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 01:55:00 +0000

Coal is a dirty business.

This was made abundantly clear to me just last week as I was enjoying the view from my living room window. I was startled to see a very long coal train winding its way north along the Puget Sound shoreline. This is, unfortunately, not a new sighting, but remains a startling image three months after I first noticed it. Since then, I have kept my ears open for coal stories in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s a smattering of what I’ve found.

Increasing amounts of U.S. coal are bound for export to Asian markets.

In 2011, the largest coal company in the world and the second largest company in the United States – Peabody Energy and Arch Coal – reached agreements with coal export facilities in Bellingham (WA), Longview (WA), and Prince Rupert (BC) to increase significantly the amount of coal exported to fast-growing Asian markets. The source of the coal will be Montana and Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, one of the largest coal reserves in the world. On their way to coastal export sites, train after train of coal will wind its way from the Powder River Basin, through the rural interior West, and finally, through rural and urban communities in the Pacific Northwest.

The Westshore terminal is burning coal just over the border in Canada. (Paul K. Anderson)

Increased coal export in the Pacific Northwest would disrupt our clean energy future, health, and environment.

Investment of scarce resources in coal export contributes to the carbon emissions associated with global warming and makes regional efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions more challenging. Coal dust from the open-air railcars that would pass through our communities would increase exposure to toxic heavy metals. Climate Solutions, a regional non-profit actively involved in the Power Past Coal campaign, states:

The proposed terminal site at Cherry Point would span 1200 acres, fill 141 acres of wetlands and sit directly on herring grounds, which are a primary food source for Chinook salmon. Salmon in turn are the main food source for imperiled Puget Sound Orcas.

You can do something about it!

Join Power Past Coal this Saturday at Moving Planet’s Day of Action in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood. Turn your energy into action at the Take Action Workshops from 10 AM to 12 PM. Rally with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and other Seattle leaders to advertise your enthusiasm at 2 PM. And don’t forget the Tar Sands Flashmob at 11:30!

For more information on what the Pacific Regional Center is up to, check out our Facebook page.

I am contemplating making this blog the first in a short series exploring key issues around coal export. A discussion of wildlife impacts or economic impacts could follow. What would you like to see next?

The post This Coal-Train is no Jazz Saxophonist appeared first on The National Wildlife Federation Blog.