On December 11th, we all need to show up in Medford for climate action.
While we work hard to get action on a faster transition to cleaner energy and greater energy efficiency here in the Rogue Valley, we also must support community groups in Coos Bay, Douglas County, and Jackson County that are standing up to steps that take us backwards like the Pacific Connector liquefied natural gas pipeline and export facility.
Residents in Coos Bay want the state and federal government to help develop sustainable jobs strategies for coastal communities like theirs. But many residents don’t want a project that will damage their environment, fishing businesses, and tourist trade; aggravate climate change; and put their community at risk by placing a hazardous LNG export facility in a tsunami and earthquake zone.
This pipeline will transport 1.2 billion cubic feet of fracked natural gas per year from the Rockies, across public and private lands in Jackson County (even if landowners are opposed), out to Coos Bay, and to overseas markets. It will benefit corporate special interests at the expense of our local communities’ safety, private property rights, climate, and clean energy future.
Recent studies show that once this gas is fracked, transported, exported and then burned, the climate impacts will be worse than pollution from coal in many cases.
Incredibly, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) just issued an environmental impact statement for this project that did not consider the effect of fracking at all!
The company that would be responsible for building the pipeline, Williams, has had four facility or pipeline explosions in the last two years, injuring multiple workers and putting communities at risk.
Come to the Jackson County Hearing on the project Thursday, December 11, 2014 6-9 pm, Central High School, Medford (link to details). This is the main chance for your voice to be counted. The corporate profiteers will use every resource to make it look like Oregonians want this project. We all need to be heard.
For more information please go to the Rogue Riverkeeper website, or the Citizens Against LNG Website.
For a faster transition to cleaner energy and a stable climate,
The Rogue Climate Team