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| Tesoro Savage oil by rail Vancouver Terminal: a lipsticked piggy pig pig? |
Today's fun topic comes to us courtesy of Vancouver Rising Tide and Coal Free Washington (SW Wash chapter). Herein we have a tale of an oil by rail terminal proposal, once liked by many, with a slick outer coating and snazzy jazz va-jazzles, coming in to little Vancouvria to dazzle us all with the promises of jobs that none of us (given there's no vocational oil-by-rail terminal job training here in Clark County) were gonna ever get.
The Port loved this proposal, and opened their legs wide to Tesoro Savage's loving embrace. The neighborhood councils loathed them, torturing Tesoro Savage spokespersons with questions about minor things - things like safety of oil traveling by rail through major urban areas and across rickety bridges; things like health effects on sickly and elderly and wee little ones; things like environmental impacts on our river and our wildlife. Little things.
Little things began to add up. Our folks in Olympia started to have second thoughts and started to speak in opposition to the Tesoro Savage oil by rail terminal. Finally, our folks on Vancouver City Council were told NO waterfront Pearl in Vancouver if YES to Tesoro Savage oil oozes - and said City Council that could stood up to the oily spokespeople and said NO MORE: Vancouver will not just lie down and "take" Tesoro oil "like a man".
The Port Commissioners seethed, and fought viciously with the City, exposing said waterfront Pearl site open to the public (and homeless encampments) for months and months, arguing about which va-jazzling (waterfront Pearl or oil by rail) was shinier. Tesoro Savage started a "citizens group", out of offices on E 11th St at Broadway (Chamber of Commerce Building), sending us flyers in our mail, telling us that City Council had better just "give in" and give up Vancouver's oil virginity - more precious than gold. Telling us to call City Council and TELL them to spread their legs - just like the Port of Vancouver had.
The City Council stood firm. And now oil-by-rail in Vancouver is Governor Inslee's decision, and his alone. And Tesoro Savage, desperate to appear the shining oily knight it started out as, has re-branded itself in one last attempt to woo Vancouverites into its bed.
Tesoro Savage Oil By Rail Terminal is now known as:
VANCOUVER ENERGY!
And so it seems that with a little lipstick, the pig keeps on oinking and rooting around in our trashy bits, hoping beyond hope that we'll one day see him as a handsome Prince.
Thanks to Vancouver Rising Tide for the info. (-:
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