Ashley Ahearn had a long look at oil trains on Grays Harbor this morning. Featured in the piece was the perspective of the Quinault Indian Nation, whose livelihood is closely knotted with the health of natural resources in the region:
The Quinault have joined with the local fishing industry groups and environmentalists in opposition to the Grays Harbor oil terminals, but Fawn Sharp, president of the tribe, says the Quinault aren’t anti-jobs.
“We’re simply anti making shortsighted, narrow decisions,” Sharp says. “Let’s look at the science, let’s look at the history and culture of the impacts, and make a good public policy decision.”
She sees the oil terminals as a symptom of a much bigger problem that threatens her people: climate change. Last year, the ocean flooded into the Quinault’s tribal village, forcing a state of emergency. The glacier that used to feed the Quinault River is gone.
You can read the entire piece here.
Quinault Environmental Defense is a vital part of the opposition to oil trains on the Washington Coast. You can follow and support that campaign at their Facebook page.
