There are many health and safety reasons to be against the threat of train and barge transport of dirty coal through the Northwest, but as we study the issue more deeply, we are finding a great many economic arguments as well.
We hear a lot about the lure of new jobs, but what is the reality and what is the cost of those new jobs to our society?
Viability of Oregon, Washington coal export terminals threatened by falling Asian prices
By Rob Davis | December 13, 2013

False hope of economic investments in jobs creation
Sightline Institute Report: “Coal Export – A History of Failure for Western Ports” (PDF file)
Coal companies’ war against labor
- Would-be Coal Exporters Scheme To Avoid Paying Worker Benefits
Union pensions and healthcare at risk from Northwest terminal backers.
by Eric de Place (January 9, 2013)
Coal transit’s impact on agriculture
Coal transit’s impact on property values along travel routes
MORE: Freight Rail and Property Values – Evidence that rail traffic harms home values (Sightline Institute)
The decline of the domestic coal market
NEW REPORT: US Coal Exports and Uncertainty in Asian Markets – What the complex future of the Pacific Rim coal trade means for the Northwest by Eric de Place and John Kriese (Oct. 2012)
Coal’s Unprecedented Collapse – Emissions fall because coal just can’t compete in the market. by Clark Williams-Derry on September 26, 2012
Coal stocks shudder at Obama’s victory
Renewable Energy vs. Coal – Cost Comparisons
Renewable energy now cheaper than new fossil fuels in Australia (7 February 2013)
Australia wind beats new coal in the world’s second-largest coal exporter
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