Zenith stokes the climate crisis by bringing in dangerous fuel by train and storing it on land that will collapse in an earthquake. Experts estimate that a subduction zone earthquake would cause the soil to liquify, tanks to collapse, and millions of gallons of fuel to spill into our river. The disaster would be as large as the Deepwater Horizon spill.
Over the last four years, Zenith continues to increase the amount of crude oil they bring in and ship out. The increase has come despite the City’s policy against new fossil fuel infrastructure. The City approved Zenith’s continued operation in spite of the dangers they bring to our community.
Since 2019, many people and organizations, including XR PDX, have called on the City to shut Zenith down. In October of last year, the City granted Zenith a Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) so that Zenith could get an air quality permit. The LUCS is based on Zenith’s commitment to move to renewable fuels over the next 5 years. Five more years of oil transshipment will push us beyond the time scientists tell us we need to have turned a corner on emissions reduction. Five more years of Zenith’s operation is not compatible with life for future generations. And renewable fuels don’t necessarily reduce emissions much while constituting the same earthquake and fire danger as fossil fuels when brought in by train.
We are going to bring this message to Zenith on April 29th, at noon, with music and theater. We will bloom at the Zenith gate, because we choose bloom, not a continuation of Zenith and the doom that they bring to our planet and the threat that they pose to our community.
