Coal export facility just as reckless as LNG
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April 7, 2011
To The Eagle:
It is beyond me why some people believe the Columbia River exists solely to make them rich. A year ago determined Washington and Oregon residents defeated the reckless and unnecessary liquefied natural gas terminal and high-pressure pipeline proposed for Bradwood, Oregon. Despite that, fossil fuel speculators still propose an LNG terminal in Warrenton, Ore. Imagine three massive tanks filled with flammable natural gas - - built on sand, on fill, on top of undiscovered bedrock, in a tsunami and earthquake zone, below sea level.
The proposed coal export facility in Longview is just as absurd and reckless, with the same underlying principle: huge short-term profits for a few, while the people along the river bear the long-term costs. Coal exporting in Longview means economic disruption, illnesses from coal dust and noise, filthy buildings and cars, lost jobs in grain, auto and other shipping; damaged quality of life, etc.
Imagine several coal trains every day, each more than a mile long, rumbling along the Columbia River, virtually nonstop – spewing toxic coal dust and leaving coal droppings in their wake. Surely the people of Washington deserve better than this. The Columbia River certainly does. Cowlitz County must say no to coal exporting.
Laurie Caplan
Astoria
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