100 Youth Voices on Gateway Pacific Coal Terminal

• < Previous Event
• Next Event >

Comment

Comment by Cynthia DuVal on November 21, 2011 at 12:19pm

I am posting a comment from Erik Singleton in response to the 100 Youth Voices event that was co-sponsored by Transition Whatcom and Explorations Academy.  We received it via the Explorations Academy Facebook page.  Erik's comment identifies the importance of systems thinking when analyzing local threats and designing and coordinating local action.  And he provides links to help us all become informed.  Below I've copied and pasted what he had to say or if you prefer to read the original, you can find that here:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Explorations-Academy/57261553270?ref=...

 

All the best to you, please share this with your networks, Cynthia

 

Thank you Daniel for sponsoring "100 Youth Voices" a wonderful evening
of information, a great community gathering. A couple of things that I
would like to share with you, since I had to leave early and didn't
have the opportunity to speak with you last night.
First is a radio broadcast on NPR on the proposed terminal here, and I
thought it was interesting that NPR pick up such a large issue here in
our county. You can find the interview online at this link:
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/26/ 141687537/ in-northwest-town-a-local-fight -against-global-coal
If you pay close attention there is one interview in particular where
an official is being asked about the project and he simply states that
the coal will move over the railway system regardless of whether the
terminal is built at Cherry Point or continues on the railway to
Canada's updated facility. "Regardless the coal will move over the
railway." I thought to myself that since the railway is probably good
friends with the coal industry and these other players that there must
already exist an agreement for the coal that is already being railed
to Canada. The amount of coal that Asia will demand in the coming
years as they develop their industries and the country's
infrastructure, will probably require two or three more facilities
besides Cherry point. So the big picture in the future is important to
look at, and to realize that there are players that have already
created laws and loopholes for this to happen, which may be hard to
change at this stage.
And my second point is that probably the only way to stop coal from
passing through Whatcom county is for the residents of Whatcom county
to draft and vote in a law that creates a moratorium on any shipping
of coal or other items viewed to be dangerous to Whatcom residents and
ecosystems.
By observing some of the activities by the counties in California,
some have created county laws that are able to keep large companies
like Monsanto from selling, growing or creating any genetically
modified products in their county.
Here's a link related to Californians for GE-Free Agriculture that
describes their work: http://www.calgefree.org/speakout.html
One of the big problems of Monsanto is small particulate in the form
of pollen, which effects every living thing it touches. Coal dust is
the same way. The EPA has set very strict standards under 2 microns.
These particulate matters will never leave the lungs once they've been
inhaled; this is the lead