California Coastal Protection Network
(CCPN)
September 15, 2006 - Pierce's speech
as he introduces "An Inconvenient Truth" at a fundraiser
to fight the LNG terminal proposed off the coast of Malibu
and Oxnard.
Good evening friends, and fellow members of the community.
I want to welcome each and every one of you and thank you
for coming out this evening.
There’s one person missing tonight and that is my
beautiful wife Keely Shaye. She is with us in spirit however
and it is her spirit that brought us all together tonight.
I stand here before you tonight as a father, an environmentalist,
and a concerned citizen.
I have lived along the coast of Malibu for over twenty
years. When my late wife Cassie fell ill, we moved to Malibu
for her recovery. It was during the experience of dealing
with Cassie’s cancer that I witnessed the deep connection
that all people feel, no matter where they live, for the
coast and the ocean. We are all delighted to watch our children
play in the surf and content when we walk hand in hand with
the one we love. The ocean heals us. We look to it for inspiration,
recreation and solace.
Unlike many coastal communities, we in Malibu, are very
fortunate... look behind you.... what do you see? It’s
magnificent in its simplicity; an unobstructed and unaltered
view of a vast expanse of sea unmarred by oil rigs, nuclear
power plants, or oil derricks. We are extraordinarily blessed.
But I am hear to tell you another “inconvenient truth,”
that if we do not come together as one and join our fellow
neighbors in Oxnard and beyond, what you see now will be
forever altered. In its place will be a massive 14 story
high, 3 football fields in length, floating, industrial
Liquefied Natural Gas storage and processing plant. It will
operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, fed by a continual
stream of tankers from foreign countries. It will foul the
air we breathe with 200 tons of smog pollutants each year,
degrade our beloved ocean with its discharges, force whales
to abandon their traditional migration routes and pose a
long-term threat to the health and safety of our communities,
our families, and our children. As we all know the health
of our human bodies is inextricably linked to the health
of our environment.
This proposed Liquefied Natural Gas terminal is part of
the globalized assault taking place on our Earth. We CANNOT
let this project be approved. Other communities in California
such as Humbolt and Vallejo have successfully stopped LNG
facilities from being built. We can too.
Keely and I and other concerned citizens are determined
to fight this LNG project. Tonight, we ask you to join us
because we need your help. We cannot do it alone. Together
we are stronger, our voices louder and the synergy of our
actions more powerful.
For our children’s sake we must be global patriots
fighting for all the Earth and all its people. Because if
we have learned anything… it is this; we all live
downstream and downwind…and we do not inherit the
Earth from our parents… we borrow it from our children.
Now, it is my honor to introduce Susan Jordan, the Director
of the California Coastal Protection Network, who is leading
the courageous fight against the BHP Billiton LNG Terminal.
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