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Re: Anti coal trains in Colubmia River Gorge video
Author: douglasm
Date: 02-16-2014 - 12:46
Keeping in mind that I have not watched the video.....I've seen enough slanted material both pro and con.....there are some issues that need to be taken into consideration.
1) Asia wants coal, there's no question. It IS a "dirty" fuel, there's no question. But will our not shipping coal to Asia make any difference at all? That is a question. If we don't ship our "cleaner" coal, Asian countries will find another source, which in all probability will be "dirtier" than the coal we ship them.
2) On a local level, one can probably not stop coal shipments by rail in the same way you can't stop oil shipments. You're dealing with interstate commerce here, something the states do not have any real power over.
3) In a way, I can understand the problem with "long" trains blocking crossings in town. We're beginning to see that issue in Wenatchee. BNSF is hauling m/t coal and oil trains over Stevens, and when they stop to change crews in Wenatchee, the location of the local BNSF office is such that halted eastbound trains tend to bottle up traffic between downtown and the developing riverfront park area. There are 4 crossings in the downtown area over a stretch of a mile and a half, and these m/ts block two of them....the others being underpasses. I've been of the feeling that many urban areas like Wenatchee and Billingham should have addressed this problem years ago, but 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing. The roadway infrastructure is old (and hard to change in congested areas), and the increase in coal and oil traffic has come in a very short span of time.
Everyone's got an opinion. The folks with the video, the folks pushing the export terminals. The problem for the average person is to separate the fact from emotion in each argument in order to come with a logical, well thought out opinion on the subject.
1) Asia wants coal, there's no question. It IS a "dirty" fuel, there's no question. But will our not shipping coal to Asia make any difference at all? That is a question. If we don't ship our "cleaner" coal, Asian countries will find another source, which in all probability will be "dirtier" than the coal we ship them.
2) On a local level, one can probably not stop coal shipments by rail in the same way you can't stop oil shipments. You're dealing with interstate commerce here, something the states do not have any real power over.
3) In a way, I can understand the problem with "long" trains blocking crossings in town. We're beginning to see that issue in Wenatchee. BNSF is hauling m/t coal and oil trains over Stevens, and when they stop to change crews in Wenatchee, the location of the local BNSF office is such that halted eastbound trains tend to bottle up traffic between downtown and the developing riverfront park area. There are 4 crossings in the downtown area over a stretch of a mile and a half, and these m/ts block two of them....the others being underpasses. I've been of the feeling that many urban areas like Wenatchee and Billingham should have addressed this problem years ago, but 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing. The roadway infrastructure is old (and hard to change in congested areas), and the increase in coal and oil traffic has come in a very short span of time.
Everyone's got an opinion. The folks with the video, the folks pushing the export terminals. The problem for the average person is to separate the fact from emotion in each argument in order to come with a logical, well thought out opinion on the subject.
