LNG Protesters at a rally outside Portland City Hall. Photo by Dennis Newman.
If there was a social calendar for Oregon environmentalists, this might the biggest event of them all.
The annual meeting of shareholders for NW Natural takes place a week from today. It’s become an annual draw not just for investors, but also for Oregon’s anti-LNG movement. Last year’s rally was fairly serene. But two years ago some of the protesters chained themselves to the doors at the utility’s offices in downtown Portland.
(Note: Please continue reading to see the video: No Gas? No problem. How a Portland woman is fighting the Palomar Pipeline.)
While I can’t promise that much fun this year, there’s growing buzz about the protest on social media. There’s also information about the time and place on the front page of the Hey! NW Natural website.
NW Natural is targeted by anti-LNG forces for its involvement in the Palomar pipeline. Palomar was supposed to deliver LNG from the Bradwood Landing terminal, to the Willamette Valley and across the Cascades into Eastern Oregon. But with Bradwood Landing in bankruptcy – it raises a whole new set of questions about what NW Natural will do next.
It could decide to go ahead with the Willamette Valley to Eastern Oregon half of the project. NW Natural likes this idea, saying it could use that segment to bring in domestic supplies of natural gas from the Rocky Mountain states. Politically speaking, that may be a smart move. Domestic natural gas doesn’t cause as much uproar as foreign supplied LNG.
Don’t expect environmentalists to roll over. That eastern segment of Palomar runs through the Mt. Hood National Forest, leaving a 40-something mile long path of clear cut. Portlanders’ love of Mt. Hood may be just the thing to see Palomar get killed.
Another option is keeping the western half of the pipeline. But instead of connecting it to Bradwood, find a way to meet up with the proposed Oregon LNG terminal in Warrenton. This is sure to infuriate farmers, vineyards, orchards and private forest owners who’ve been fighting all attempts to put LNG pipelines through Northwest Oregon.
Here’s what you need to know.
The NW Natural protest begins at 1:00pm, Thursday May 27, outside the Oregon Convention Center , 777 MLK Blvd., Portland. There’s also a carpool caravan departing Eugene at 10am. The gathering spot is at the corner of Agate & E 19th.
But of all the stories about LNG protesters, this is one that really intrigued me.
Kima Garrison of NE Portland has turned off natural gas at her house and is going without heat from her furnace. Mind you, she started it this spring when having a furnace isn’t quite so important as it will be next winter. But she’ll try keeping it off next winter, too.
She’s still getting electric hot water and can still cook on her electric stove. She’ll be the first to admit that shutting off the gas isn’t as difficult for her as it is for others.
Why is she doing this? Garrison got tired of writing “No LNG” statements on her natural gas bill and seeing no results. She thinks that if NW Natural notices a drop in business because of its support for Palomar, then maybe it will decide to pull out of the pipeline project. That, of course, depends on a lot of other people joining Garrison in her natural gas free lifestyle.
Here’s her story in her own words.
Is electricity really less environmentally impactful than natural gas? Kima in NE Portland is a customer of Pacific Power. Their resource mix is
GENERATION ENERGY SOURCE IN MWH
Coal 70%
Natural Gas 17%
Hydro 10%
Wind and other renewables 3%
Just some food for thought.
Source: http://www.pacificpower.net/content/dam/pacific_power/doc/Business/Save_Energy_Money/Design_Professionals.pdf
It can have as much impact if it’s LNG.
One of the reasons environmentalists are so opposed to LNG is that it’s “dirtier” than domestic natural gas. That’s in part because it takes so much additional energy to chill the gas into a liquid, ship it across the Pacific Ocean, and warm it back into gas after it arrives in the U.S. Foreign natural gas may also come from countries with more lax environmental standards, adding to the perception of dirtiness.
Dan Serres of Columbia Riverkeeper once told me that when you factor in everything, foreign LNG is almost as bad as coal.
Brian, thanks for doing the research on Pacific Power–it has inspired me to strive towards turning off the electricity! (well, maybe just for a month or so)In general, though, it seems that since the Boardman coal plant will eventually be shut down, at least they are going in the right direction; as in not trying to expand fossil fuel consumption. overall, I guess we all just need to be aware of where our utilities are coming from and how we can conserve..thanks again for your input!