We have much more to do and your continued support is needed now more than ever.
Coal Export Opposition Dominates Public Hearings
Guest blog post by Michael O’Leary.
The news media is getting it right. The recent public hearings over coal export proposals are proving that there’s overwhelming opposition to the plans of big energy companies to sell subsidized American fossil fuels overseas to benefit job growth in India, China, and South Korea.
The Seattle Times is saying that the opponents of coal exports make up the “vast majority” of Seattle hearing attendees. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported we “dominated” the Vancouver hearing. The Bellingham Herald reported that Whatcomb County attendees were “overwhelmingly” against coal.Sure, we were hard to miss. We made signs. We had stickers. We wore our t-shirts. We’ve done our homework to identify how the mining, transportation, and burning of coal would negatively impact our local communities and the planet as a whole. We were well prepared to make a good showing.
That said, we’re a long way from successfully protecting our water, wetlands, clean air and climate from coal exports. While coal is on the decline here in the US, overseas consumption is still on the rise. We’ve still got work to do.
Be sure to do your part with the National Wildlife Federation action alerts on this issue, and do join us if you have the opportunity to get involved more personally. Staking your claim to clean air, clean water, and becoming a catalyst for the change to a cleaner global economy never sounded so good. And you might just make the newspapers.
Protect Northwest orcas and other wildlife from dirty coal! Speak up against these dangerous coal export proposals.
Michael O’Leary of Portland, Oregon is an Outreach Consultant for National Wildlife Federation working on coal export and renewable energy issues in the Pacific Northwest, where he’s been a political organizer for over 15 years. Michael is a certified cycling instructor and a certifiable bike enthusiast, and can often be found on two wheels, rain or shine.