From Marching For Science To Ignoring Science
Yesterday, the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club expressed its opposition to proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals in Brownsville because they would be “too close for comfort” to the SpaceX launch site currently under construction. Rebekah Hinojosa, the Sierra Club’s Chapter Conservation Organizer, stated:
“The thought of large explosives in close proximity to even larger vats of accelerant, like natural gas, would trouble anyone who isn’t a pyromaniac or a fool. The residents of the Rio Grande Valley are neither and so are troubled at the dangerous facilities being planned in their community. SpaceX, a private space exploration corporation, is building its latest launch site in Brownsville, Texas, a mere stone throw away from proposed export terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) a highly flammable substance. For the Laguna Madre communities that live within the 6 mile radius of the two facilities, ‘too close for comfort’ only scratches the surface of their opposition to the two projects.”
The Valley Morning Star recently reported on a scientific study that debunked the Sierra Club’s concern:
“One study to determine whether a bad launch from SpaceX’s planned Boca Chica Beach launch pad could pose a threat to proposed liquefied natural facilities on the Brownsville Ship Channel has concluded that the risk is insignificant.”
While the Texas Sierra Club marches to defend science, the group conveniently ignores science when it does not suit their agenda. Perhaps Hinojosa and her Sierra Club allies should escort themselves out of scientific dialogue just as security had to repeatedly escort them out of conference halls, like in Houston earlier this year.