The recent push-poll (paid for by the backers of the Jordan Cove LNG project) delivered predictable results because it asked the wrong questions. Here’s a question it should have asked: “Do you think Coos Bay should be going after the thousands of new jobs in clean energy that will be coming to Oregon, rather than a dangerous and polluting foreign fossil fuel facility that may never get built?”

Currently, thousands of jobs in solar, wind and wave power are being created around Oregon, which is fast becoming a national leader in these industries. It’s not an accident — the state of Oregon offers a business energy tax credit, which covers up to 50 percent of the cost of a clean energy project.

Another wave of incentives and more clean energy jobs are on the way. President-elect Obama just outlined an economic plan that will create 2.5 million new jobs by 2011, many of them in the clean energy industry. Meanwhile, the LNG industry continues to wither in the face of cheap domestic natural gas. Paul Ausick, a well respected Wall Street analyst, reported this week that “LNG just can’t compete” in the current market.

Do we really want to look back at this time with regret, as other U.S. communities reap the rewards and jobs of the new energy economy, while we were forced to waste our time arguing about this outdated energy project? Coos Bay has the infrastructure already to support these industries without hundreds of millions in tax subsidies (like those required by LNG). It is time for our local leaders to take off their “LNG at all costs” blinders, and do what it takes to attract the jobs of the future to our region.



Holly Stamper

Charleston