Northwest? Is Northwest Innovation Works truly of our Northwest? The company doesn’t exactly spring from the heart and soul of our region. It’s a company backed by the Chinese Government’s Academy of Sciences Holdings. The company does hope to get ahold of millions of gallons of Northwest water, watts and watts of Northwest power, and maybe a chunk of taxpayer change for expenses. I wonder about the alterations that NWIW wants to make to Northwest air quality, Northwest salmon runs, Northwest river traffic, Northwest natural beauty — maybe NWIW wants the Northwest to become NWIW.
Innovation? Colorful graphics and public relations will not make NWIW innovative. True innovation will bloom when we heed the scientific community’s directive by immediately cutting greenhouse gas emissions. A refinery that’s geared to consume methane-emitting fracked gas for the next 40 years can never cut it. Innovation is safe, clean energy.
Works? Nope. Shoving the world’s largest methanol refinery on an unwilling river community won’t work. A profit-clinging, climate-busting company will never work. Our broken planet needs cooperative work; work from all of us.
To sum up, Northwest Innovation Works: it’s not Northwest, not Innovative, and not going to work for Kalama, our region, or our planet.
