In the literary world it is called foreshadowing. Those little hints and bits that suggest what might come next. The corporate bumbling surrounding creation of two giant coal terminals in Washington has that feel. Read the full story here.
Cargo terminal proposal part of national debate over jobs, environment
“The jobs are nothing to scoff at,” Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike said earlier this year of the SSA Marine proposal at Cherry Point. But Pike’s attitude changed when he learned what cargo the company had in mind: coal, and potentially 48 million tons of it a year. That coal would end up in China, where it would fuel the blistering …
After years of waging disinformation campaigns, the U.S. cigarette industry finally accepted that cancer-wary Americans were lighting up less. Big Tobacco found a lucrative new market, however: It stepped up exports to Asia. Big Coal seems set on a similar strategy. With construction of new coal plants being blocked across America — and states like Washington phasing out coal — the export market beckons, …
A railroad bottleneck if coal trains increase
A new study shows passenger rail service from Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., can expand. But additional freight traffic from coal trains would create a problem for a stretch of single-track rail, landslides, and low-roof tunnels. Read the full story here.
When the locals don’t want your coal, sell it overseas
The world’s largest surface coal mine complex is a landscape unto itself. Six 200-foot-high draglines tear open the earth and scoop the black coal into gigantic dump trucks that make school buses look like playthings. Two dozen loaded-down trains, each a mile long, slide out of the mine complex every day, headed for power plants hundreds and even thousands of …
Port officials say 100 ships per year could take fuel deliveries
Coos Bay might see coal exports, but not from the general-purpose cargo terminal the port would like to build, Oregon International Port of Coos Bay CEO Jeff Bishop told the Port’s commissioners Thursday night. Coal exports would bring too many ships for the cargo terminal to handle, he said. ‘If any coal terminal is developed in Coos Bay, it would …
Coal dust, piles an issue for southeast Newport News
Mayor McKinley Price peered through binoculars on the 10th floor balcony outside his City Hall office, viewing a panoramic landscape of waterfront property dominated by black coal piles. Read the full story here.
Unfair Impact on Marysville
A hot political debate is underway in Whatcom County over a proposal to build a coal shipping terminal. It has a worrisome connection to Snohomish County — and Marysville, in particular — that state officials mustn’t overlook. Read the full story here.
Whatcom County: Gateway Pacific cargo terminal needs new permit
Developers of the Gateway Pacific Terminal must apply for an entirely new shoreline permit if they want to build a facility capable of handling up to 54 million tons of cargo a year, including coal. Read the full story here.
Port of St. Helens a potential candidate for a terminal to export coal to Asia
Legal documents indicate the Port of St. Helens is talking with a coal export terminal developer, the first sign that Oregon could be in the mix to export coal to meet ever-growing Asian demand. Read the full story here.
