The majority of oil spills, according to the International Tankers Oil Pollution Federation, originate in or near ports, and 80 percent of those spills arise from operational accidents such as those that occur during loading, discharging, and bunkering.
Cancer-causing air pollution from oil terminals is inevitable, also during loading, discharging and bunkering.
Clean, healthy cities attract people, and companies locate where their employees will be delighted to live and raise their families. Those companies typically provide jobs that are family-wage and permanent. They don’t discharge oil into our water and on our shorelines. They do not discharge toxic air. They do not put communities and water at risk to get their products in and out of our community.
What they do is provide good jobs that don’t disappear through automation nor after build-out is complete. They provide a good tax base and a small environmental footprint. They will join like-minded companies, already here, drawn by our vibrant community and healthy environment.
I believe Vancouver wants to maintain its status as one of the most livable cities in the country while encouraging environmentally friendly job creators. It can only do that if Tesoro-Savage is denied a permit.
