Search Results
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The Smoke and Mirrors Defense of RNG
Gas utilities are facing an existential crisis: fossil fuels have no future in a decarbonized economy. Yet that bit of reality hasn’t shocked utilities into changing course, not even in the Northwest, where state climate targets are flatly incompatible with continued gas usage. Rather than adapt, these utilities are doubling down on gas with a deceptive campaign centered on “renewable natural gas” (RNG). The problem, as we detailed in our...Read more » -
The Thin Green Line Takes a Victory Lap
The new year is proving to be a promising one for Northwest climate progress, especially for the movement opposing fossil fuel development, which we’ve taken to calling The Green Line. One measure of the movement’s success—hard won over many years in countless communities around the region—is a trio of new stories about its history, cast of characters, and surprising success. Great News at Long Last!, an hour-long program by Barbara...Read more » -
Northwest Decarbonization Conflicts with Utility Plans for More Gas
Northwest decarbonization plans won’t pan out while the region’s biggest utilities continue to bank on more fossil fuels for decades to come.Read more » -
Listen In: What 2020 Will Mean for the Thin Green Line
This week, I joined KBOO Community Radio‘s Barbara Bernstein to look back at 2019 and ahead to 2020. We talked about the successes—and the frustrations—of the past year and what to expect as the Northwest continues its fight against major fracked gas infrastructure projects. In this episode, we covered climate despair, the Jordan Cove LNG export project, the Kalama methanol project, Governor Jay Inslee’s new opposition to fracked gas development, and...Read more » -
Despite Inslee’s Opposition, Gas Industry Still Plans Big Expansion in the PNW
When Washington Governor Jay Inslee reversed course last month to oppose two big gas infrastructure projects, it may have marked the turning of the tide against an industry that has enjoyed seemingly unfettered growth in the Northwest. And it isn’t a moment too soon. Even as climate scientists’ warnings become more urgent and our understanding of the harmfulness of fracked gas sharpens, the industry continues to bank on big expansions....Read more » -
Jay Inslee Steps to the Front of the Thin Green Line
In a surprise announcement, Washington Governor Jay Inslee cited his conscience when he came out in opposition to two major fracked gas infrastructure projects in his state: Tacoma LNG and Kalama methanol refining. The news, announced Wednesday, caught almost everyone by surprise, including the broad community of advocates that have been fighting the projects for years. The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has been a major opponent of Tacoma LNG. Sited...Read more » -
What Is the Necessity Defense, and What Are Its Limits?
Editor’s note: Late last month, the necessity defense appeared to have reached a milestone when a judge in Massachusetts found 13 pipeline protesters not guilty after they testified that civil disobedience was the only reasonable alternative to prevent imminent harm, locally and globally. The 13 activists were arrested, along with close to 200 other participants, in response to a year-long campaign that began in 2015 to halt a pipeline extension that...Read more » -
Northwest Gas Projects Fuel the Fracking Beast
Editor’s note: We updated this article on May 29, 2018 to reflect projects that have been withdrawn, and include updated information about current projects. This article also features a third version of the graphic. The Northwest is home to a range of project proposals to expand gas consumption. At first glance, they appear quite different from one another, but on closer inspection they can be seen as parts of a...Read more » -
Washington Bill Would Legalize Low-cost “Co-living” Homes
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The Danger of the Pipelines and Trains that Serve Refineries