What some people feel about having an LNG terminal shoved down their throats is what we feel when we see the rapist/developers demolish another hillside. It is a helpless sensation similar to seeing a crushed dog screaming in the street. The screams can’t be heard by bloated Republican ears. There is no environment to worry about in their sodden minds, so just keep driving. And the issue isn’t about real estate prices or terrorists, it’s about ethics. Ethics apply in our own backyard mountains just as they apply to our vulnerable oceans. Pacific Environment, Heal the Bay and other groups raise the all-important question, do we really need the five proposed terminals, and if so, what is the cost?
Proponents say LNG has half the carbon dioxide emissions of oil. Wrong! After shipping and re-gasification it is equal to the utilization of oil. Proponents profess that drilling for LNG in Sakhalin Islands will not affect the remaining 100 Western Gray Whales in existence. One can say it certainly won’t help them! And, finally, they claim that LNG is actually good for the environment. Wow. This is classic Bush science at its finest; first the result, then carefully craft the evidence so the gaping masses can swallow their pill. Speaking of pills, could one really believe that a Neanderthal, missing link, groping governor really cares for the environment? The answer is only if he can use his Hummer to drive over it!
We are going to have the LNG terminal in our backyard whether we like it or not. Preliminary reports indicate that the Malibu pipe will connect with the Oxnard pipe and exit at Ormond Beach, which happens to be populated with the endangered Least Tern and the threatened Snowy Plover. It will cross the wetlands (threatening habitat including Salt Marsh Bird’s Beak plants and a myriad of other migratory birds) and travel 50 miles up the Santa Clarita River to connect with the main pipeline in Santa Clarita. One will not have to worry excessively about the river habitat or those annoying oak trees because Newhall Ranch’s 21,000 homes will have paved over what little remains.
So as one could imagine, it’s really sort of an evil circle; a tentacle, if you will, inch by inch sucking the life out of the natural world around us. The moral of the story is making nature the priority, including our own backyards. (Remember, your Malibu City Council and Mayor are 100 percent pro development). Let those evil twinkling lights on the ocean horizon remind us always that rapist/developers are winning the war on every front.
J.H. Wilson.