Letter: Warnings qualify for a call to action

The Jan. 12 editorial, “Risks trump any rewards,” stated “at this point there are no new revelations about the terminal.” Perhaps.

The Tesoro-Savage draft environmental impact statement says that the terminal would not cause new greenhouse gas emissions. However, Seattle’s Sightline Institute published a report, “Tracking Emissions,” which conclusively refutes that claim.

They show that Tesoro-Savage would contribute between 13 million and 35 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

In December, the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative published their report on our planet’s warming polar regions, “Thresholds and Closing Windows.” It’s an urgent call to action. They warn us, “Humanity faces very high risk of crossing certain irreversible thresholds in its (polar) regions — setting into motion changes that cannot be stopped or reversed.”

I attended the terminal’s Jan. 5 public hearing. I couldn’t wait six hours for my turn at the microphone, but one of the DEIS contractors confirmed that they were not aware of either report.

As we rush toward the thresholds described in the ICCI report we need to realize that projects like Tesoro-Savage will have consequences far beyond the jobs and shareholder value that will be realized by a very few.

As the ICCI scientists write, “Never has a single generation held the future of so many coming generations, species and ecosystems in its hands.”

That includes the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council and our governor.