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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Ashland monitor reads 'unhealthy' ... SOU student raising funds to help India orphanage by documenting it ... Police Reports ... Ashland monitor reads 'unhealthy' ... SOU student raising funds to help India orphanage by documenting it ... Police Reports ... LOCAL TAKE What do you think of the proposed natural gas pipeline? Pacific Connector would run from southeast of Klamath Falls through Jackson County and over to Coos Bay Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 12, 2015 at 7:03 PM Updated Jan 12, 2015 at 9:46 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 12, 2015 at 7:03 PM Updated Jan 12, 2015 at 9:46 PM » RELATED CONTENT • What do you do with money saved from cheap gas? • What are you doing on Super Bowl Sunday? • What do you think of the state of the city? • Has Dr. King’s dream been realized? • Have we recovered from the Great Recession? • Are you glad the Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink is here? • College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? • Do you think vaccinations should be mandatory? » Social News A proposed 232-mile natural gas pipeline from Klamath County to Coos Bay is raising a lot of controversy, chiefly around environmental impacts on the ground, greenhouse gases, its crossing of 400 streams, the 90-foot wide swath its construction will cut through much private land (using eminent domain; after construction, the corridor would be 50 feet), the relatively limited number of permanent jobs it would create and the fact that the energy would be shipped elsewhere and the whole project is owned by a Canadian corporation. Some 145 ongoing jobs will be created in Coos County, which is a tangible benefit but not huge. The Coos Bay plant will emit greenhouse gases, which pose danger as climate change to the whole planet, not just people nearby. The pipeline will create huge profits but the eminent domain offers are not huge and only happen once. The 36-inch pipeline will be there forever. If this were a freeway, which would benefit all, it would be a much easier sell, but almost all the benefits go to far-off investors. We asked the following questions of Ashlanders: What do you think of the proposed natural gas pipeline that would run from Klamath Falls to Jordan Cove, passing through Jackson County northeast of Ashland? Is the economic benefit worth it? Are the environmental impacts too serious? What about using eminent domain to cross people’s property? What about the carbon footprint and exporting of energy? Greeley Wells — It stinks, literally. We have so many better options. Whatever we do, it should stay at home and be ecologically safe for us. That thing is filled with dangers, such as breakage of the pipeline. The building of it — I can’t imagine putting a hole like that across your universe. It’s going over rivers and creeks. The initial jobs are limited, then you have a few ongoing maintenance jobs and there is no guarantee they’ll be local jobs. Laurie Rathsam — I’m against it. Give me a break, it’s awful. The government oversteps its bounds too easily and look what it does to peoples’ health. People come to Ashland to escape this kind of business that the government pursues. Why can’t people in the Orient figure out how to find their own natural gas over there, instead of shipping it from here? Jack Leishman — It’s a terrible idea. Number one, it goes against the grain of our efforts not to put out more fossil fuels into the environment and atmosphere. We should be looking at a range of alternative energies, not this kind of thing. It’s incredible, all kinds of effects on our ecosystem. If there are leaks, it will get into our streams and watersheds. As for jobs, no, it’s money down the drain because my guess is we’ll implement technologies to make this obsolete in a short time. The eminent domain part is “taking” and it may be legal and has been around a long time, but this project is not for the greater good, like highways. It’s for profit for shareholders in a multi-national corporation. They’ll make a ton of money. And they’re driving this by using our fear of energy shortages. Don Harriss — We shouldn't be investing time and money in an old technology like oil and gas. Ecologically, it’s a disaster in the making. It’s too many miles, with great potential to damage ecology, wildlife, property values. There’s plenty of oil flowing out of this country and we don’t need more going out. I’d rather put the money in renewable energies, like solar and wind. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jan. 12, 2015 at 7:03 PM Updated Jan 12, 2015 at 9:46 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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