I spent the last 10 years in a statewide coalition fighting to defeat the Jordan Cove Pacific Connector fossil gas terminal and pipeline. We won! That’s 235 miles of pressurized pipes full of gas that will not be crossing hundreds of streams and endangering humans and wildlife in southern Oregon.

The fossil fuel companies have met the “The Thin Green Line” and know that Pacific Northwest activists will rise up against their projects. But if they can’t increase pipelines, what can they do to increase profits? Trans Canada (TC, project owner) wants to increase the capacity of the current system to distribute more gas. Called the GTN (Gas Transmission Northwest) XPress Expansion project, TC wants to “upgrade” three current compressors and build a new one, dramatically increasing production. The permitting agency, FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), reports the social cost of carbon from GTN is $12 billion in damages to society.

This project is incompatible with the state of Oregon’s carbon reduction goals. The climate crisis is bearing down on us and we need to stop burning fossils. This is not a new pipeline but it will increase emissions from gas, which is methane. This is what we must get rid of first.

Learn more and sign Columbia Riverkeepers petition at bit.ly/GTN-Petition. This is not in the public’s interest.

Debby McGee

Eugene

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