As senior adviser with the organization Climate Solutions, I think The Columbian editorial board got it right in its Nov. 6 piece, “A Question of Quality of Life: Coal terminal proposed for Longview would degrade health, natural resources.” Building a huge coal terminal in Longview is a risky bet with severe impacts on the quality of life in Southwest Washington.
Millennium Bulk Terminals CEO Bill Chapman’s response falsely claims that Asian markets are desperate for U.S. coal and private investors are eager to foot the bill for this project.
In fact, coal demand is plummeting around the world, and prices no longer justify the expense of digging the coal up and shipping it halfway around the world. This is great news for the global climate and for people struggling to breathe in Asian cities, but terrible for the coal companies.
Wall Street has written off coal for dead: one of Millennium’s owners, Arch Coal, lost more than 99 percent of its value in the past five years and just announced that it will file for bankruptcy this year. Instead, the coal backers are hoping the public will foot the bill for this costly boondoggle.
We should focus on building real prosperity for the 21st century and not tie our futures to buggy whip factories in the age of iPhones.
