Thought I'd post this here for those that dive in the area:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20040908-9999-1b8lng.html
Greenpeace mounts moves against LNG
Boats sail to islands to oppose Baja projects
By Diane Lindquist
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 8, 2004
CORONADO ISLANDS, Mexico The environmental group Greenpeace staged a two-pronged action yesterday, sending boats from Ensenada and San Diego to the Coronado Islands to underscore opposition to two planned liquefied natural gas projects in Baja California.
The event was timed to the release of a Greenpeace report arguing that competition to build LNG receiving terminals along the west coasts of the United States and Mexico is needlessly committing California to an energy future linked to fossil fuel.
"We're at a crossroads in our energy future," Greenpeace campaign organizer Kristin Casper said. "We should be moving ahead on both sides of the border with renewable energy. LNG is not the answer."
The two boats brought activists, the media, California officials and area state and elected representatives to the offshore site adjacent to the southernmost Coronado Island where ChevronTexaco wants to place a platform for an LNG terminal.
Once both vessels arrived at the island, a handful of people from Greenpeace's ship, Arctic Sunrise, steered an inflatable boat to land, temporarily planting a sign that highlighted the area's rich diversity of plant, bird and sea life.
We declared in a symbolic way that the island is a natural protected area," said Arturo Moreno, a Greenpeace campaigner in Mexico.
The action also focused attention on Sempra Energy-Shell Oil Co.'s proposed LNG terminal at Costa Azul 12 miles north of Ensenada.
Three other LNG projects are proposed for California. Mitsubishi plans one at Long Beach Harbor, and BHP Billiton and Crystal Energy have proposed projects off the Ventura County coast.
All would provide Southern California with at least part of the natural gas supplies shipped from far-flung locales around the Pacific Rim.
The energy companies say LNG is the cleanest and safest of all fossil fuels.
They warn that North America's traditional natural gas supplies are diminishing and additional sources are needed. The LNG terminals would create a new natural gas market in which consumer prices would likely be lower and more stable than now, they say.
Greenpeace, along with numerous U.S. and Mexican nongovernmental organizations, argues that future energy needs should be met with conservation and renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
The groups contend that LNG releases carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming and that it is a volatile fuel that poses a risk to surrounding communities.
Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission made a significant step in creating an LNG market, at Sempra Energy's request, when it approved importing liquefied natural gas from Baja California through pipelines at Otay Mesa.
Commissioner Loretta Lynch, who traveled on the boat from San Diego, said she voted against the majority because she hasn't been convinced of the need for LNG and because she feels the agency is skewing the market by giving an advantage to the Mexican projects.
"This is the single largest change in California's energy history except for deregulation," she said.
Also present on the trip were California Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe and representatives of U.S. Reps. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, and Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido, and of California state Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego.
"What this trip is all about is to raise the issue and get the public interested and up to speed on the issues," said Bill Powers, an organizer of the Border Power Plant Working Group, a coalition of environmental activists.
"If we can raise awareness, we can increase political pressure on the policy makers," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diane Lindquist: (619) 293-1812; diane.lindquist@uniontrib.com
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20040908-9999-1b8lng.html
Greenpeace mounts moves against LNG
Boats sail to islands to oppose Baja projects
By Diane Lindquist
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September 8, 2004
CORONADO ISLANDS, Mexico The environmental group Greenpeace staged a two-pronged action yesterday, sending boats from Ensenada and San Diego to the Coronado Islands to underscore opposition to two planned liquefied natural gas projects in Baja California.
The event was timed to the release of a Greenpeace report arguing that competition to build LNG receiving terminals along the west coasts of the United States and Mexico is needlessly committing California to an energy future linked to fossil fuel.
"We're at a crossroads in our energy future," Greenpeace campaign organizer Kristin Casper said. "We should be moving ahead on both sides of the border with renewable energy. LNG is not the answer."
The two boats brought activists, the media, California officials and area state and elected representatives to the offshore site adjacent to the southernmost Coronado Island where ChevronTexaco wants to place a platform for an LNG terminal.
Once both vessels arrived at the island, a handful of people from Greenpeace's ship, Arctic Sunrise, steered an inflatable boat to land, temporarily planting a sign that highlighted the area's rich diversity of plant, bird and sea life.
We declared in a symbolic way that the island is a natural protected area," said Arturo Moreno, a Greenpeace campaigner in Mexico.
The action also focused attention on Sempra Energy-Shell Oil Co.'s proposed LNG terminal at Costa Azul 12 miles north of Ensenada.
Three other LNG projects are proposed for California. Mitsubishi plans one at Long Beach Harbor, and BHP Billiton and Crystal Energy have proposed projects off the Ventura County coast.
All would provide Southern California with at least part of the natural gas supplies shipped from far-flung locales around the Pacific Rim.
The energy companies say LNG is the cleanest and safest of all fossil fuels.
They warn that North America's traditional natural gas supplies are diminishing and additional sources are needed. The LNG terminals would create a new natural gas market in which consumer prices would likely be lower and more stable than now, they say.
Greenpeace, along with numerous U.S. and Mexican nongovernmental organizations, argues that future energy needs should be met with conservation and renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
The groups contend that LNG releases carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming and that it is a volatile fuel that poses a risk to surrounding communities.
Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission made a significant step in creating an LNG market, at Sempra Energy's request, when it approved importing liquefied natural gas from Baja California through pipelines at Otay Mesa.
Commissioner Loretta Lynch, who traveled on the boat from San Diego, said she voted against the majority because she hasn't been convinced of the need for LNG and because she feels the agency is skewing the market by giving an advantage to the Mexican projects.
"This is the single largest change in California's energy history except for deregulation," she said.
Also present on the trip were California Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe and representatives of U.S. Reps. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, and Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido, and of California state Sen. Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego.
"What this trip is all about is to raise the issue and get the public interested and up to speed on the issues," said Bill Powers, an organizer of the Border Power Plant Working Group, a coalition of environmental activists.
"If we can raise awareness, we can increase political pressure on the policy makers," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Diane Lindquist: (619) 293-1812; diane.lindquist@uniontrib.com
