Right now, the Jordan Cove export terminal is threatening Pacific Northwest communities. It would open the door for a massive new fracked gas pipeline that would cut through private and public lands -- including traditional hunting and fishing areas important to local tribes.
This is the latest example of how the fossil fuel industry pollutes our environment, drives climate chaos, and harms our communities -- all while reaping massive profits for its executives. But amazingly, even elected officials who claim to believe in climate science or support a Green New Deal have been slow to come out against Jordan Cove. This is unacceptable because we are at a tipping point to stop climate destruction.
The IPCC and the Trump Administration’s own National Climate Assessment give us less than 12 years to make massive changes in our economy and energy sector before we face devastating and irreversible climate chaos.
Within this context, our elected leaders face a stark choice. They could choose a Green New Deal that invests in renewable energy and puts communities on the front lines of environmental destruction at the center of the solutions. Or they could choose the Jordan Cove gas export terminal and Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline. It’s time for our leaders to choose.
If built, the Jordan Cove project would be responsible for over 36 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The Pacific Connector will require a 95-foot-wide clear-cut through southwest Oregon’s forests and farms all to deliver fracked gas - a global warming pollutant up to 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide for export.
Simply put, Jordan Cove and the Pacific Connector would be a climate disaster.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently denied Jordan Cove and the PCPipeline an important water quality permit. But that may not be enough to stop either project.
Trump appointees at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission are reviewing Jordan Cove’s application now. And in recent weeks they’ve approved several new gas export facilities - with Acting FERC chair Neal Chatterjee expressing enthusiastic support for the Trump Administration's touting of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports as #freedomgas.
And if FERC rules against Oregon’s communities, tribes and climate - the Trump Administration and its dirty allies in the fossil fuel industry may not take no for an answer. In April, Trump signed an executive order making it legal to force through pipelines with federal approval from FERC, even if states and cities object. They can even use eminent domain enforced by armed federal marshals to seize Oregon landowners’ property.
This is a dangerous moment - and our elected officials, including our senators and members of Congress, need to stand up to Trump and his fossil fuel agenda by saying NO to Jordan Cove and the Pacific Connector Pipeline NOW.
To:
FERC and Oregon Elected Officials
From:
[Your Name]
We are the people and communities impacted by Jordan Cove and the Pacific Connector pipeline. We have seen first hand the destruction caused by fossil fuel infrastructure, and can attest that these projects are dangerous, dirty, and unnecessary.
At the same time, we’re excited and empowered by the promise of the Green New Deal. This is our chance to rapidly end our dependence on fossil fuels and prevent climate chaos while creating millions of jobs and putting communities on the front lines of environmental destruction at the center of the solutions.
We call on you to meet with us, and support a strong Green New Deal that unequivocally ends the use of fossil fuels, including Jordan Cove and the Pacific Connector Pipeline.
Thank you
