Ahren Stroming
SwatchJunkies
SwatchJunkies
Lower Columbia River Critical Front on the Thin Green Line
In all the Pacific Northwest, the Lower Columbia River is the most vulnerable to the threat of fossil fuel expansion. ...
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Small Seattle Pipeline Expansion would mean Big Carbon Pollution Increase
The slow-motion battle expanding a six-mile pipeline in suburban Seattle might seem like small potatoes, but it’s Exhibit A in ...
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King County Poised to Lock Out Fossil Fuels
Update: The King County Council voted 6-2 to support the moratorium. King County is poised to join the ranks of ...
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Kalama Methanol Facility Could Put Taxpayers on the Hook
For the past several years, the Northwest has been ground zero in a debate over whether to build a trio ...
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Is Coal Still Needed in the Pacific Northwest?
The Northwest is not exactly the heart of coal country. Over almost a decade of bruising disputes about whether to ...
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Will Washington’s Oil Industry Ever Stop Expanding?
The Northwest is poised between promise and peril. The coming years could usher in a golden era of low-cost and ...
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Small Town Silicon Smelter Plan Tees Up Big Questions
Northwest communities have been fighting an onslaught of dirty energy proposals for nearly a decade, from coal terminals and oil ...
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The Oil Spill That Could Happen Here, Part 2
Since Washington state lawmakers convened in Olympia this January and took up legislation on oil transport, the nation has seen at least one major pipeline spill when an Exxon pipe leaked 40,000 gallons of crude into the Yellowstone River. It was the second time in just a few years that the pipeline had ruptured: it spilled 63,000 gallons into the river in 2011, for which regulators fined the oil giant $1 million.
The latest incident was a timely reminder of just how often---and just how serious---oil pipeline spills are. In fact, in the last five years, there have been two other serious oil pipeline spills that did meaningful damage to the environment and local communities. Those stories are warnings for communities near existing pipelines, many of which are slated for expansion.
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The Oil Spill That Could Happen Here, Part 1
Spills are an unfortunate reality of moving oil on or near water. Try as we might to avoid them, the ...
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Grays Harbor Ship Traffic: The Impact of Oil Plans
Of all the places in the Northwest that would be affected by a ramp-up in oil transport, none stands to be as profoundly transformed as Grays Harbor. A trio of proposed crude-by-rail-to-vessel schemes at the Port would result in staggering increases in oil-bearing vessels moving in and out of the bay.
Based on figures in the the Washington Department of Ecology’s “Vessel Transit and Entry Counts” database, it is possible to contrast the average volume of ship and barge traffic over the last decade to the number of vessel trips that would be induced by planned oil sites on Grays Harbor. The most direct comparison---the number of current to potential future tank vessel---reveals that the three sites could multiply laden oil tankers and barges by 44 times.
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Columbia River Ship Traffic: the Impact of Coal and Oil Plans
Like the Salish Sea, the Columbia River is threatened by the risks of oil spills. If you need proof of the risk, look no further than the historical record of major spills or the dozens of recent close calls on the river. In fact, the Coast Guard sector responsible for the region that includes Grays Harbor plus the Columbia and Snake Rivers responds to 275 oil pollution incidents in a typical year
Yet the risk of spills could soon increase dramatically. If they are built, new fossil fuel shipment proposals would result in huge increases to both oil and other petroleum ship movements, as well as to overall large vessel traffic on the Columbia River.
Using the Washington Department of Ecology’s “Vessel Transit and Entry Counts” database, we calculate the average volume of ship and barge traffic over the last decade and compared that to the number of vessel trips that would be induced by newly-built and planned fossil fuel sites in the region.
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Salish Sea Ship Traffic: the Impact of Coal and Oil Plans
The Northwest's most important waters are under a near-constant threat of oil spills. It’s a fact made plain by the historical record of major spills and the dozens of recent close calls, as well as the best available data and modeling analysis of oil spills risks.
Yet the risk of spills could soon increase, perhaps dramatically. A spate of new fossil fuel shipment proposals could well generate very large increases in both oil transport and overall vessel traffic in places like the Salish Sea. To provide a clearer picture of what's ahead, we crunched the numbers. Using the Washington Department of Ecology's "Vessel Transit and Entry Counts" database, we calculate the average volume of ship and barge traffic over the last decade in contrast that to the number of vessel trips that would be induced by newly-built and planned fossil fuel sites in the region.
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