The last thing the Northwest needs is another boom-and-bust industry, especially one based on exporting coal, the dirtiest and costliest fuel known to mankind.
The Port of Portland’s experience developing a coal export terminal in the 1980s proves that foreign demand is unreliable. After spending $25 million in development costs, the port and investors saw their plans go up in smoke when not a single ounce of coal was exported. Thirty years later, the long-term economic benefits of coal export are even more questionable.
The Asian countries where coal would be shipped are already beginning the transition to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources. Why spend a fortune on infrastructure that will, at best, become obsolete in a few decades? Better to invest our resources in solar, wind and energy conservation technologies that will sustain our region’s economy for generations.
Mark Leed
Vancouver
