Your Dec. 26th editorial “Cheers and Jeers” offered jeers to “plans to place a large methanol plant in Kalama.” You wisely noted, “Just as Vancouver didn’t need a crude oil terminal, Kalama doesn’t need this operation.” Thankfully, our Washington Department of Ecology agreed, denying the shorelines permit for this ill-conceived fracked-gas-to-methanol proposal.
We can breathe a sigh of relief, thanks to tireless efforts of Kalama residents along with multiple voices throughout the Pacific Northwest, who effectively made the case to Ecology that the harmful impacts generated by such a deceptively green-washed proposal are not worth the risks to Washington and to our region.
It has taken years of collective effort to realize this outcome. I appreciate the Department of Ecology for listening and putting the long-term health and safety of our region over short-term profits for out-of-state purveyors of dangerous fossil fuels that are out of step with the clean energy future Washington envisions.
Closing the door on Kalama methanol leaves us one step closer to pursuing a future powered by cleaner, more sustainable forms of energy for a healthier climate. As Vancouver City Councilor Erik Paulsen said, the climate crisis “is the existential issue of our generation.”
