On Tuesday, July 27 2021 Whatcom County in far west Washington State, became the first county in the United States to ban further expansion of fossil fuel facilities. This action made the front page of The Guardian newspaper. WA State county bans fossil fuel facility expansion
An email from Barry Buchanan, a Democratic local elected county council leader in this action, stated:
The council has unanimously voted to adopt the final stakeholders’ version of the Cherry Point Amendments. In the last few weeks, I received hundreds of emails expressing support for the stakeholders’ compromise, one that protects jobs and the environment.
“I urge you to vote yes on July 27, and I encourage you to continue working for a safe and healthy community, a resilient economy, a thriving environment, and climate justice.”
I am so pleased that labor, the industry, and environmentalists not only worked together, but also trust each other and believe in these policies. This bold action to ban new fossil fuel infrastructure is the first of it’s kind in the entire nation
This is the same county and state that stopped dead plans to build a gigantic new port to ship mountains of coal extracted from other western states to Asia.
No doubt, the heat dome that baked Lytton Canada to over 121 degrees F. and then the fire that burnt the town to the ground, had an impact. Lytton is only 95 miles north of Whatcom’s border with Canada. Local farmers have taken enormous losses this year from the stunning heat waves that were well out of any previous model forecasts for the impact of climate change. Whatcom is also the location of two refineries and sees large shipments of shale oil brought in by rail, so the battle is not over, but a significant victory has been achieved. Hopefully, it’s a harbinger of change to come.