As American coal companies look to the Northwest as the fastest route to get their product from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to Asian markets, five ports in Washington and Oregon are considering coal-export terminals—and folks in both states are considering the potential impacts. The largest of the five proposed coal-export sites, the Gateway Pacific Terminal, could be built north of Bellingham, which would mean up to 18 more trains passing through Seattle and other communities along the coast. And that, says a recent report from the Seattle Department of Transportation, could add 50 percent more time to drivers’ waits at Seattle’s railroad crossings, and could affect emergency-vehicle trips to and from the waterfront. As the project undergoes its environmental review, KUOW environment reporter Ashley Ahearn moderates a panel discussion designed to answer questions about coal exports, explore what happens next—and explain what all the fuss is about. Panelists include Jeremiah Julius of the Lummi Indian Business Council; Bob Watters, senior vice president/director of business development at SSA Marine; Mike Elliott, chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen; Kimberly Larson, communications and marketing director of Climate Solutions/Power Past Coal; and law advisor Sanne Knudsen, assistant professor at the University of Washington’s School of Law. Presented as part of the Town Hall Civics series with EarthFix, KUOW, and KCTS9. Series supported by The Boeing Company, the RealNetworks Foundation, The Stranger, and the True/Brown Foundation.
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Public Meeting on the EPA’s Lower Duwamish Waterway Cleanup Plan
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2 Comments
why would any sane person consider running 18 coal laden trains/day in the rail line tunnel under downtown seattle is beyond idiocy,especially when spontaneous combustion of the coal laden freight cars is not an uncommon occurrence!
We should be shipping natural gas to China, not coal. By shipping them coal, we are simply giving the Chinese the means to continue the pollution of the planet. Coal is the dirtiest feul, and heavy metal contamination (Mercury, and other toxic metals) is showing up in places like remote mountain lakes in Maine. Chinese coal burning is adding ruin to the planet.
Natuaral gas produces much less CO2 when burned, and contributes less to global warming. Our own carbon footprint has improved a great deal in the last few years, because so many of our own coal plants are converting to natural gas. China can do the same, and the whole world will benefit. Natural gas is extremely abundant, and very cheap.
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[...] As American coal companies look to the Northwest as the fastest route to get their product from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to Asian markets, five ports in Washington and Oregon are considering coal-export terminals—and folks in both states are considering the potential impacts. The largest of the five proposed coal-export sites, the Gateway Pacific Terminal, could be built north of Bellingham, which would mean up to 18 more trains passing through Seattle and other communities along the coast. (Source: Town Hall Seattle) [...]