In response to the recent article printed in The Herald, "Bellingham turns into battleground in coal-export fight" several supporters of the Bellingham Coal train initiative see the economic impacts of the train to be well worth the environmental hazards and disruption of day-to-day life. I believe this is certainly not the case.

Mike Elliot said, "Some groups have demonized a natural resource and they think nobody on the planet should burn this material. I disagree. We need jobs."

I believe Elliot shows a clear disregard for the environmental and social repercussions from operating a coal train on the west coast and shipping it abroad to China, which happens to have its own plentiful source of coal. Instead, we should be exploring alternative energy sources for when we no longer have the luxury of burning coal to sustain our lifestyle. If we continue to move in the direction suggested by Elliot, our dependence on coal will not only increase, but the environmental impacts will be irreversible and the industry that would have employed thousands will eventually displace those employees, creating a false sense of job security.

The greed for money has completely jaded America's collective judgment for what's right and wrong. For the earth's sake and therefore our own sake, I believe it's is imperative that this initiative is not approved.

Chantilly Chiles

Bellingham