Holding the Thin Green Line

As the fossil fuel industry increases pressure to turn the Pacific Northwest into a fossil fuel hub, a Thin Green Line stands in its way. Now that communities across the region have stopped numerous coal and oil projects, the industry is pushing even harder to build the West Coast’s largest liquid natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon, a massive LNG storage and distribution hub at the Port of Tacoma and the world’s largest methanol refinery in Kalama, WA. These projects would import gas from Canada, Colorado and Wyoming, exploit the cheap water resources of local communities in the Northwest, then export the LNG and methanol to Asia. Profits would flow to Canadian and Chinese companies, while local communities are left with pollution.

HOLDING THE THIN GREEN LINE is a two-hour radio documentary, programmed as individual hours, telling the stories of people fighting to save the souls of their communities and preserve the integrity of the Pacific Northwest. Each hour consists of two parts. In Part One, the first half-hour, “The World’s Largest Methanol Refinery,” follows the efforts of activists in Tacoma and Kalama, Washington, to stop the world’s largest methanol refineries from being built at their ports. The second half-hour, “A View from the Blast Zone,” tells the saga of Puget Sound Energy’s effort to build a massive LNG storage and distribution hub at the Port of Tacoma, vehemently opposed by citizens across the region.

Part Two includes the third and fourth half-hours: “The Long and Twisted Tale of Jordan Cove” and “Rising Tide of Resistance.” These segments tell the story of what could be the largest Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) export terminal on the West Coast. This mammoth facility, proposed for Coos Bay, Oregon, would be fed by a 240 mile long, 36″ wide pipeline transporting fracked gas across four counties in Southern Oregon. It would cross much of Southern Oregon, disturbing 480 rivers, streams and wetlands in its wake. For fifteen years community members, landowners and indigenous people have organized and raised their voices to stop this assault on their homes, communities and land. These final segments depict this struggle and the amazing resistance it has spawned.

The struggles that HOLDING THE THIN GREEN LINE depicts have national consequences. The Pacific Northwest is poised to become a funnel that pours natural gas extracted from regions across United States and Canada to markets in Asia. But if these projects are stopped that gas will remain in the ground, and communities on the frontlines of fracking around the country will no longer be threatened by its environmental impacts. HOLDING THE THIN GREEN LINE is the first in-depth coverage of this issue of vital national concern. Hide full description

As the fossil fuel industry increases pressure to turn the Pacific Northwest into a fossil fuel hub, a Thin Green Line stands in its way. Now that communities across the region have stopped numerous coal and oil projects, the industry is pushing even harder to build the West Coast’s largest liquid natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon, a massive LNG storage and distribution hub at the Port of Tacoma and the world’s largest methanol refinery in Kalama, WA. These projects would import gas from Canada, Colorado and Wyoming, exploit the cheap water resources of local communities in the Northwest, then export the LNG and methanol to Asia. Profits would flow to Canadian and Chinese companies, while local communities are left with pollution. HOLDING THE THIN GREEN LINE is a... Show full description