Since 2003 a rash of proposals have surfaced in communities throughout the Northwest to export vast amounts of fossil fuels to Asian markets via Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. If these plans go through the Northwest would become home to the largest oil terminal in North America, the largest coal export facility in North America, and the largest methanol refinery in the world.
As the fossil fuel industry turns up its pressure to turn the Pacific Northwest into a fossil fuel export hub, a Thin Green Line stands in its way.
This week we present Part One of Sacrifice Zones by Barbara Bernstein. It’s the first in a two-part series on the pressure to transform a region of iconic landscapes and environmental stewardship into a global center for shipping fossil fuels. Bernstein investigates how proposals for petrochemical development in the Pacific Northwest threatens the region’s core cultural, social, and environmental values.
Special thanks to Dan Serres, Eric de Place, Carol Newman, Peter Seigel, Steve Early, KMUN Coast Community Radio, Melissa Marsland, Jerry Mayer, Jan Zuckerman and Bill Bigelow.
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Featuring:
- Barbara Bernstein, Writer, Narrator, & Producer of Sacrifice Zones
- Eric de Place, Policy Director at Sightline Institute in Seattle
- Dan Serres, Conservation Director for Columbia Riverkeeper
- Jasmine Zimmer-Stucky, Campaigner to stop methanol refinery proposed on the banks of the Columbia River in Kalama, Washington
- Paul Lumley, Former Executive Director for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) from 2009 — 2016 and a citizen of the Yakama Nation
- Cathy Sampson Kruse, Member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
- Pat O’Herron, Board President, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
- Andres Soto, Organizer Communities for a Better Environment, and Richmond (CA) Progressive Alliance
- Steve Early, Author of REFINERY TOWN: Big Oil, Big Money and the Remaking of an American City
- Clair Brown, Economics Professor at the University of California at Berkeley
- Cheryl Johnson and Laurie Caplan, Former Co-Chairs of Columbia Pacific Common Sense
- Abbi Russell, Communications Manager for the Port of Vancouver, WA
- Jared Larrabee, General Manager for Vancouver Energy, a joint venture of Tesoro Oil and Savage Companies
- Linda Garcia, Board Officer for the Fruit Valley Neighborhood Association
- Jared Smith, President for Local 4 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union
- Arlene Burns, Mayor of Mosier, OR
- Charlie Hales, Former Mayor of Portland, Oregon, from 2012 — 2016 and co-sponsored Portland’s historic ban on future fossil fuel storage infrastructure
- Barbara Bernstein and Floating Glass Balls, Original Music Composition & Performance
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