Climate Change

As Trump takes the wheel, U.S. thermal coal is looking for a way off the continent

The denial of a key permit by the State of Washington has left the largest proposed coal facility on the West Coast of North America high and dry. The proponents of the export terminal in Longview, Washington failed to obtain an aquatic lands sublease permit, dealing a major blow to an industry already struggling to transport U.S. thermal coal to markets in Asia.

Several of the New Democratic Party’s political anxieties were placed on the public record Thursday, thanks to a leaked copy of the planning document for Opposition leader John Horgan’s promise to increase the carbon tax starting in 2020.

The “not for circulation draft” of the NDP communications plan was obtained by the B.C. Liberals and released to the news media 90 minutes before the Opposition party’s own news conference on the subject.

ProPublica, Dec. 29, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump greets supporters before speaking at a campaign rally on Oct. 18, 2016, in Grand Junction, Colorado. (Brennan Linsley/AP Photo)

On December 5, former vice president Al Gore met with Donald and Ivanka Trump in an effort to convince the president-elect that he should not gut federal policies and agreements dealing with climate change. Three days later, actor Leonardo DiCaprio also paid the Trump duo a visit, urging them to help build a green, climate-friendly economy with lots of jobs. The two men could not have done less to prevent climate catastrophe if they had flown up to Alaska together and asked the glaciers to please stop melting.

January 5 2016

The health of our economy cannot be separated from the health of our environment.

The myth that we have to choose between the two is peddled by forces opposed to increased environmental protection and effective climate action—forces that stand to profit from destructive megaprojects and the endless extraction of finite resources.

And let’s face it—they have been quite successful at it: the myth endures.

So it’s worth asking ourselves, have we been unwittingly perpetuating it, instead of undermining it?