In the Pacific Northwest, residents are mobilizing to prevent the coastal export of fossil fuels and protect uniqueecosystems and place-based communities. This paper examines the diverse groups, largely from the Bellinghamarea, and how they succeeded in blocking construction of what was to be the largest coal-shipping port in NorthAmerica, the Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT). Tribes, environmental organizations, faith-based groups, andother citizen groups used a multitude of approaches to prevent development, both independently and in concert.This paper reviews the various ways in which the groups collaborated and supported one another to resist theneoliberalization of the coast and support local sovereignty, unique ecosystems, and place-based communities.Groups like Power Past Coal, Protect Whatcom, and Coal-Free Bellingham fought for important and protectivechanges and evidenced communitywide political support, but the sovereign rights of the Lummi Nation were thelegal bar to constructing the coal terminal.
Rooftop PV Impacts on Fossil Fuel Electricity Generation and CO2 Emissions in the Pacific Northwest