We just avoided tripling Washington’s carbon footprint

June 2, 2017
Beach-at-Cherry-Point-WA-where-export-terminal-would-be-built

Big news. The small community of Whatcom County in Washington state just scored a huge victory in the fight against fossil fuel expansion in the face of Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Following four hours of public testimony — in council chambers packed to the brim and spilling out into the hall — the Whatcom County Council voted 6-1 on sweeping new protections for Cherry Point, one of the last possible undeveloped deepwater dock sites on the West Coast. Their new Comprehensive Plan effectively stops any new unrefined fossil fuel export infrastructure at Cherry Point.

This is a major local win in the fight against fossil fuels.

It protects fishing jobs, and resources used by the Lummi Nation — whose ancestors have hunted, fished and lived in this area, known as  Xwe’chi’eXen, since time immemorial. It also plants a massive barrier between the fossil fuel industry and world markets.

This victory was won by hundreds of local volunteers who gave public comments, wrote letters, made phone calls, and whose dedication inspired others to take action. If you were one of those volunteers, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.