Congratulations! We are deeply gratified that Governor Schwarzenegger has taken to heart the concerns of thousands of residents, numerous national, state and local organizations as well as elected officials, and vetoed the BHP Billiton LNG Terminal proposal.
During the past year, as we worked closely with many of you in the community and our public officials to stop BHP, we spoke with hundreds of concerned individuals from diverse backgrounds. Not one of them told us that they wanted this LNG terminal built. What they did tell us was that California needed to find a better and cleaner way to meet its energy needs.
While researching BHP’s LNG terminal proposal, we realized that importing Liquefied Natural Gas is an issue with far-reaching and long-lasting implications for the world we live in. What we do in California and around the globe will not only affect our children and our children’s children, but generations to come. Given the information we now have about global warming and the compromised nature of our earth, we have a profound responsibility to use caution and tread thoughtfully as we address our energy needs.
Lt. Governor John Garamendi and State Controller John Chiang, along with 12 California Coastal Commissioners, demonstrated remarkable courage when they rejected the BHP Billiton LNG Terminal and their comments on record were telling. In sum, they refused to accept a project that would foul our air, degrade our ocean, endanger marine life, and generate greenhouse gases that would contribute to global warming. Equally significant, they called for a more coherent review process for pending LNG terminal proposals that are currently in line to receive approval. But most of all, both our Lt. Governor and our State Controller asked a basic question: Does California need to build an LNG terminal to meet its energy needs? Their mutual conclusion was that the information they had before them was insufficient to make that decision and they urged the State to pass legislation that would require California to answer that very basic and critical question.
Our heartfelt thanks to the Governor and all of you who worked tirelessly to defeat BHP. Special thanks to Susan Jordan at the California Coastal Protection Network for her passionate leadership, Linda Krop, Karen Kraus and the entire CCPN legal team at the Environmental Defense Center for their expert legal counsel and scientific review, Ozzie Silna for his steadfast commitment and early critical funding, and everyone who participated in event after event.
This victory for our community reminds us that we need to think globally, but act locally. Both Malibu and Oxnard should be proud of their efforts to defeat this project.
Keely and Pierce Brosnan