Regardless of whether China’s appetite for coal is slowing or whether oil prices are at a stock-market-sinking low, the Pacific Northwest remains the “thin green line” between fossil fuels in the North America interior and Asia markets.
Plans for shipping vast amounts of coal and oil through new big terminals in the Northwest have already aroused concerns about local pollution and possible effects on climate change. Before more terminals are built, Northwesterners will have to give their permission through state and local regulations requiring public hearings.
These are the kinds of issues raised in Jennifer Atkinson’s Ethics and Environment class (BIS 356), which is co-sponsoring “The Thing Green Line” presentation with the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
Guest speaker Eric de Place is a policy analyst with the Sightline Institute, an independent, nonprofit research and communications center in Seattle. His presentation on coal and oil export plans in the Northwest is Tuesday, March 8, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in UW2-131.
Atkinson says this presentation is an example of how University of Washington Bothell students connect their classroom learning with real-world environmental justice issues.
