As many as 12 million tons of coal won’t be coming through the Port of Vancouver annually, as pointed out in the April 3 story “Port dodges coal, embraces potash.” This is good news for residents of Vancouver and for the rest of Washington. Our state is committed to reducing global warming pollution. That means we must hold firm against having our ports used as an export location for this worst of fossil fuels. We don’t need dirty, toxic coal dust with its negative impact on local communities and the Columbia River.
Coal transport will pollute our air and clog rail traffic. Coal giants seeking to transport huge volumes of coal for export abroad do not have Washington’s public health and environment in mind. Coal is bad for our economy, bad for clean energy gains and bad for our health. We need to continue saying “no” to coal and “yes” to promoting a viable, clean-energy economy.
Cathryn Chudy
Vancouver
