Over the past several days we've found ourselves back on the mainland where we've met the hospitality of some wonderful folks with whom we have shared our story and learned from.
We gave two presentations in the past few days. The first of which was given at the Ocean Park
Community building to a group of local citizens who are against the increased coal trains that would result from a proposed coal export terminal giving coal companies the ability to sale U.S. thermal coal over seas.
The ultimate purpose of the meeting was to give the citizens a chance to talk to governmental candidates about what they plan to do concerning the local coal issue as well as other environmental factors affecting them. The organization, Communities and Coal, who put together this meeting also put together an additional meeting in North Delta at the Trinity Lutheran Church near the location of the purposed coal terminal. Both of our presentations were well received, and people appreciated hearing our story.
None of the residents living along the train route wants the increased train traffic. The fact that the government has not done a proper health impact study deeply concerns many of them with the health impacts caused by the trains. Coal has an impact on people's health no matter if it is the area it is being extracted, in transport, or where it is being burned. We discussed some the health impacts in the "cradle to grave" lifespan of coal ranging from the methods of extraction to the processing and then burning of it. Our main message to the people was to make connections and to look to the bigger picture. While stopping the coal export terminal from being built will help their own community, it will also help communities all along the train route, and even in the Powder River Basin, to preserve their health and the health of generations to come.
On Saturday, we attended the Whatcom County Sustainability Festival to see how people can reduce the need for fossil fuels. There were vendors from various areas of sustainability set up to discuss solar energy, worm composting, cob building, and hemp building products. There were organizations challenging people to look more into their energy use and see where they can cut down that usage. One booth that caught my eye was the Exploration Academy, which is a high school that has been in operation for 20 years and has a curriculum focused on sustainable living.
Speaking, sharing, and learning with citizens of the areas we have been visiting has been a truly
wonderful experience for our whole family thus far. It is truly amazing uplifting to see so many people working to protect their communities and interested in living more sustainably, and though we have already spent time with friends and created connections with wonderful people and organizations, our journey is far from over though. The fun has only just begun.
We gave two presentations in the past few days. The first of which was given at the Ocean Park
Community building to a group of local citizens who are against the increased coal trains that would result from a proposed coal export terminal giving coal companies the ability to sale U.S. thermal coal over seas.
The ultimate purpose of the meeting was to give the citizens a chance to talk to governmental candidates about what they plan to do concerning the local coal issue as well as other environmental factors affecting them. The organization, Communities and Coal, who put together this meeting also put together an additional meeting in North Delta at the Trinity Lutheran Church near the location of the purposed coal terminal. Both of our presentations were well received, and people appreciated hearing our story.None of the residents living along the train route wants the increased train traffic. The fact that the government has not done a proper health impact study deeply concerns many of them with the health impacts caused by the trains. Coal has an impact on people's health no matter if it is the area it is being extracted, in transport, or where it is being burned. We discussed some the health impacts in the "cradle to grave" lifespan of coal ranging from the methods of extraction to the processing and then burning of it. Our main message to the people was to make connections and to look to the bigger picture. While stopping the coal export terminal from being built will help their own community, it will also help communities all along the train route, and even in the Powder River Basin, to preserve their health and the health of generations to come.
Speaking, sharing, and learning with citizens of the areas we have been visiting has been a truly
wonderful experience for our whole family thus far. It is truly amazing uplifting to see so many people working to protect their communities and interested in living more sustainably, and though we have already spent time with friends and created connections with wonderful people and organizations, our journey is far from over though. The fun has only just begun.
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