Charlie Hales says ‘we need to push hard’ on feds against coal

“It’s easy to be against coal,” Hales wrote in a statement that his campaign released today. “I sure am. Coal is a nonrenewable resource that is doing severe damage to our atmosphere — with its emissions and acid rain, not to

“It’s easy to be against coal,” Hales wrote in a statement that his campaign released today. “I sure am. Coal is a nonrenewable resource that is doing severe damage to our atmosphere — with its emissions and acid rain, not to mention the carbon use in transporting it.  

Obviously, we shouldn’t enable transport through our community — not through North Portland, not anywhere. And certainly not to enable China to continue its proliferation of coal plants to power its growth, when their emissions return right back to us in the form of acid rain.”

Hales then criticized his opponent’s call for a Portland City Council resolution against coal trains and his support for a widespread health-impact study. Jefferson Smith detailed those points in a video his campaign released earlier this week.

“But I think we have to go further than a ‘city resolution’ or ‘agreeing we need a state health study,'” Hales wrote. “The federal government governs our railroads. They have the ultimate power to make this happen or not. We need to push hard on our federal congressional delegation to slow the process [and] ensure enough environmental impact is assessed.”

— Beth Slovic; on Twitter