I urge Gov. Jay Inslee to deny approval for the proposed Tesoro-Savage oil terminal at the Port of Vancouver. I share the concerns about public and environmental safety risks cited by many other letter writers. We should not tolerate accidents, spills, and air and water pollution.
I also think we need to look to the future and resist the temptation to become captive to the fossil fuel economy. The oil shipped through the port might not be used to increase American energy independence. It could be shipped elsewhere, and foreign markets are shifting away from fossil fuels even as the proposal is studied.
Globally, clean energy investments have been breaking records and receiving twice the funding as fossil fuels, according to Bloomberg News. Fossil fuels have been hard hit by falling prices and declining investment. Producers are creeping ever closer to insolvency, and there is a crisis in investor confidence. Soon, a trickle of divestment will become a flood, and prices will collapse. We don’t want to be stuck with a stranded asset when the “carbon bubble” bursts.
We can do better at our port and keep Vancouver safe, green and healthy.
