The League of Women Voters sponsored a forum on coal exports last week in Longview. More than 250 people attended and the majority appeared to be opposed to the proposed coal export terminal in Longview on the Columbia River.
Millennium Bulk Terminals, a subsidiary of Australian coal giant Ambre Energy, has bought up land in Longview and would like to bring in coal by rail from Montana and Wyoming and ship it to China. Those coal trains would pass through the Columbia Gorge and Vancouver on the way to Longview and would trail toxic coal dust and cause congestion on our streets.
Coal is a 19th-century fuel that is dirty and contains mercury, a potent neurotoxin, and contributes to global warming. We can get off coal and shift to cleaner, renewable energy. What China burns goes into our atmosphere. Why should we enable China to burn coal when we are moving away from coal in this country?
Roger Cole
Vancouver
