In early June, the Trump administration invoked a Cold War-era national security law in order to direct hundreds of millions of federal dollars to coal mining, processing and export, including a massive marine terminal to be built in the Port of Oakland. 56 coal mines will be opened or kept open as a result of the funding as Trump continues his commitment to ignoring the ongoing climate crisis and putting communities at risk.
Just storing coal and its byproducts is extremely hazardous to the surrounding areas – several coal ash storage facilities broke containment and dumped tens of thousands of tons of hazardous waste into the Dan and Emory rivers in North Carolina and Tennessee, endangering the drinking water of tens of thousands and destroying the ecosystem of an untold amount of plant and animal life. This followed decades of negligence on the part of the companies (Duke Energy in NC and the Tennessee Valley Authority in TN) that owned the facilities, and only when the disasters struck was the close relationship between said companies and the government agencies supposedly charged with regulating them exposed.
For over a decade, climate activists and West Oakland residents have opposed developers’ plans to build the Oakland Terminal, precisely because it would almost certainly handle and export coal as its main commodity. Were the terminal to go ahead, the people of West Oakland and the surrounding area would face negative health outcomes from the storage of tens of thousands of tons of coal, and the surrounding environment would be under constant threat of a toxic spill. However, the developers are still seeking funding to build the terminal despite the large federal investment, which means there is an opportunity for community members. Make our voices heard, show that we will not give up and we will not accept the Bay Area being used to transport the poison that is destroying our environment!
There will be a community organizing meeting Thursday, June 25th if you are interested in learning more about the fight to keep coal out of Oakland!
