Keep fuels in the ground

The recent ads published in TThe Spokesman-Review by BNSF Railway are shortsighted. It is true that rail is the safest mode of ground transportation; however, transporting coal and oil is unsafe by any means. Aside from the possibility of a horrific accident (lives lost, aquifer polluted, etc.), there is a much more serious long-term danger.

Transporting fossil fuel means that it will be burned. Burning fossil fuels releases CO2 and other pollutants into the atmosphere. We are already seeing climate changes caused by the greenhouse gases released from previous burning. To avoid catastrophic changes, we must stop putting more greenhouse gases in the air now.

I quote from the Earthweek article published in Aug. 14 Spokesman-Review: “Current CO2 levels may already bring dangerous warming. New research finds that current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are enough to warm land areas of the planet by more than the 1.5 degrees Celsius many policymakers had hoped to avoid.”

Why should we allow coal and oil corporations to profit at the cost of our children’s future? We must keep fossil fuels in the ground and develop alternative energy sources now.

Margie Heller

Cheney