This year people across the Northwest exercised constitutional rights to protect our climate.
WE THE PEOPLE IN ACTION
In 2013, Big Oil unveiled plans for the nation’s largest oil-by-rail terminal at the Port of Vancouver. The proposal was decked out with all the trappings of patriotism: American energy independence. Home-grown crude oil. American jobs. According to Tesoro, the project backer, 70 percent of people in Vancouver supported the terminal. The Port’s three-member elected board enthusiastically approved a 30-year lease kickstarting the project.
Fast forward to May 2019. The same Port adopted a policy banning new bulk fossil fuel terminals. What happened? Tribal nations and hundreds of thousands of people convinced Governor Inslee to reject Tesoro’s oil terminal.
People across the Northwest exercised constitutional rights to protect their health, safety, and what they love. Freedom of Speech: You spoke your truth. The Right to Assembly: You changed minds by showing up in force, convincing the City of Vancouver to oppose the oil terminal. Freedom of the Press: You talked to reporters, wrote letters to the editors, and posted on social media.
You voted.
Tesoro’s proposal ignited a fire of activism in Vancouver and beyond. People called for new leadership at the Port. The community recruited candidates. Big Oil broke the Washington state record for cash contributions in a local election. Big Oil’s candidate lost anyway, and the Port of Vancouver has more progressive leadership.
Instead of handling dirty oil, local Longshore workers recently unloaded wind turbine blades. Cager Clabaugh, president of the local Longshore union, noted the impact of the fossil fuels ban: “As our members are in the process of discharging the largest shipment of windmills we have had before, I want to thank the Commissioners for putting in place a policy to protect port property by not pursuing any future bulk fossil fuel terminals.”
Is the Port’s ban on fossil fuel export necessary and making a difference today? Absolutely. This summer, Columbia Riverkeeper sent the Port a public records request. Turns out, several fossil fuel companies recently inquired about leasing Portland for exporting liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas liquids. The Port’s response: No thanks.
Here’s what patriotism looks like to us: independence from dirty fossil fuel companies that pollute our environment and our democracy; investing in clean-energy jobs; and exercising the right to vote to protect our climate.
We the People Issue: How your Columbia Riverkeeper membership is promoting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; the 50th anniversary of the seminal case Sohappy v. Smith; and annual financial report.
