A tempest over the terminal

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Susan Jordan, director of California Coastal Protection Network, which is spearheading the fight against BHP Billiton's LNG facility, speaks as an image of the proposed LNG ship is screened behind her.

Stars join locals at Bluff’s Park in the fight against a proposed liquefied

natural gas facility.

By Kim Devore / Staff Writer

Celebrities, politicians, activists and families flocked to Bluff’s Park on Friday Night for a special screening of the cautionary environmental film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” and to voice their opposition to the proposed liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast of Malibu. The facility, which critics say would change the face of Malibu forever, is described as being an industrial behemoth 14 stories high and the length of several football fields that would sit off the coast of Malibu.

The gathering drew a diverse crowd, even a member of the normally tight-lipped California Coastal Commission.

“I’m very concerned about the possible effects of LNG to the environment and the people of Malibu,” said coastal commissioner Steven Kram.

A prescreening reception drew everyone from locals like family doctor Jeff Harris to noted photographer Lyndie Benson as well as acclaimed actor Pierce Brosnan, activist Ozzie Silna and Assemblywoman Fran Pavley.

“LNG is part of the globalized assault that is taking place on our earth,” Brosnan said. “We are determined to fight this project.”

Brosnan and his wife, Keely Shaye, are committed environmentalists.

Other supporters in the fight against the LNG terminal include some of Malibu’s most famous names including Barbra Streisand, James Brolin, Roma Downey, Mark Burnett, Mary Steenburgen, Ted Danson, Kenny G, Cindy Crawford, Tom Hanks, Martin Landau, Jane Seymour, James Keach, Daniel Stern, Charlize Theron, Dick Van Dyke and Sting.

Global assault was also the subject of the critically acclaimed Al Gore film, which drew hundreds of environmental supporters and depicts the irreversible effects of global warming on the planet.

“I’ve seen the film before,” said Realtor Susan Shaw, “and it is scary.”

Brosnan, who had come to the park for the screening, previously had the first page of his Web site devoted to a letter promoting the movie.

“This movie packs a punch that ricochets right through the heart of the planet,” Brosnan told The Malibu Times.

The actor’s Web site’s home page now has a letter inspiring supporters to fight the LNG facility, proposed by Australia’s BHP Billiton.

In his remarks before the gathering, Brosnan shared his personal journey to Malibu, which took place more than 20 years ago when his first wife, Cassie, was stricken with cancer.

“I witnessed the deep connection people feel for the coast and the ocean,” he said. “The ocean heals us and we look to it for inspiration.”

Brosnan warned that the pristine coast of Malibu could soon become like Santa Barbara or San Onofre, which, in addition to scenic vistas, are home to oil derricks and nuclear power plants. Members of the nonprofit California Coastal Protection Network also said that the LNG facility might become a terrorist target. A 2004 Congressional Research Report states that LNG facilities could be vulnerable to such attacks.

BHP Billiton, the largest mining company in the world, is awaiting approval of an air quality and water discharge permit for the project from the Environmental Protection Agency. Other permits and approval, including from the governor of California, are necessary for the project to proceed.

Meantime, a great deal of hope is being pinned on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. CCPN Director Susan Jordan expressed concern about the facility being placed over active fault lines off the coast. She urged the crowd to write to the governor to voice their opposition saying, “Tell Governor Schwarzenegger to terminate LNG.”

Malibu Councilmember Andy Stern, who sees intervention from the Sacramento powers that be as Malibu’s only real hope in stopping the project, echoed those sentiments.

“This [gathering] is great, but we have to get to the governor,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”

Schwarzenegger has voiced support for the project in the past.

The evening of awareness was sponsored by the CCPN. Volunteers made the rounds with petitions and audience members were asked to get more information from the organization’s Web site, www.coastaladvocates.com.

In his closing remarks, Brosnan urged families and friends to think about the future of Malibu and their children, as well saying, “If we do not come together as one, what you see now will be forever altered. We do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children. We cannot do this alone. For our children’s sake, we must become global patriots.”