Oregon is always at the forefront of saving the world and every other SJW agenda item these days, or so it seems. And when it comes to environmental extremists you’ll find no lack of them along that stretch of the Pacific coast. They’ve scored another huge “victory” this month in the form of halting the proposed construction of a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near the mouth of the Columbia River. The project had been in the works for years, but took on increased significance after the American energy boom of the past half decade. The world is hungry for LNG and it represents a major opportunity in terms of evening out our trade imbalance. But thanks to the dedicated efforts of green energy warriors and Oregon politicians, yet another refusal of a construction permit seems to have been the final straw for The Oregon LNG company and they’ve pulled the plug on the entire project. (The Oregonian)

“It didn’t have a lot of public support, I’ll put it that way,” Warrenton City Commissioner Henry Balensifer III said Friday… Under Oregon LNG’s plan, an 87-mile pipeline would have shuttled Canadian natural gas from Woodland, Wash., to the Warrenton terminal, where it would await export to Asia. But Oregon LNG lacked support from key elected officials whose votes were needed to move forward. Clatsop County commissioners voted unanimously to reject the application to build the terminal, a decision later upheld by the Land Use Board of Appeals. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and state Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, had also come out against the project. Wyden said he was “relieved” to hear the project would not move forward.

Yes, Oregon residents must be proud that they elected Ron Wyden as their Senator at this point. He’s “relieved” that the project will be going elsewhere, never to darken the doorway of his state’s residents again.

But what is the loss of the LNG terminal taking with it? Local estimates indicate that the project would have produced more than 2,000 construction jobs spanning a period of several years and at least 150 full time, permanent jobs for workers at the plant after that. (And that’s a lot of jobs for a low population area.) The full economic impact of that much productivity and money flowing into the region is nearly impossible to calculate, but hey… who needs economic activity so long as you keep the evil energy industry people away, right?

The fact is that the LNG is already being produced and the demand for it overseas isn’t going away. The product will be shipped and terminals will be built to handle the flow of commerce. The difference is that somebody else will be profiting from it rather than the citizens of Oregon. And that’s great news as far as I’m concerned. Build the terminal in a more jobs friendly location and let them reap the benefits. The good citizens in Warrenton, meanwhile, can smoke their corn cob pipes and stare out across their empty bay, enjoying the sounds of the wind, the waves, and the unemployed people camping out near the beach.