Stop Cove Point

On February 20, a crucial rally was held in downtown Baltimore.  The Maryland Public Service Commission began reviewing an important issue that affects countless societies, the decision of whether or not to emit the construction of a 3.8 billion dollar initiative, Cove Point.

To challenge this decision, Frostburg State students and many others joined together in one of the largest environmental rallies. The rally held over 700 students who united to fight against this permit.

Cove Point is a liquefied natural gas export facility. According to recent studies, fracked gas exports at Cove Point could potentially harm Maryland and its surrounding community. The main problem with this initiative is the harm it will bring to the local populations, from accidental explosions to unnecessary industrialization.

Research indicates that Maryland is the fourth most vulnerable state in America, and is already in line to be harmed by global warming. This questions the risk in fracking at Cove Point.

Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) describes the risks, stating that the hazardous gas is piped from out-of-state fracking wells and sent across to our state’s climate-warming gas emissions.

In addition, CCAN positions that Cove Point’s proposed onsite liquefaction requires the use of a high scale power plant, as well as compressors and storage tanks. These facilities could discharge additional air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and unstable organic compounds, producing pointless ozone pollution into Maryland’s already fragile ecosystem.  CCAN is striving to choose a cleaner environmental path.

Brian Wigglesworth, a senior here at Frostburg State University attended the event this year and felt the mission to “Stop Cove Point” is a very important one.

Wigglesworth was pleased with the turn out of the event. He said, “What was great was seeing all the people across Maryland and from Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, come to support a cause that is near and dear to Maryland.”

Wigglesworth felt there are several more eco-friendly options towards making Maryland cleaner.

“There is already Dominion Resources, which is a Virginia gas company, that already has an import facility at Cove Point, but they don’t have an export facility. So, what they are proposing to do is to build on to that facility, and also they are going to build a power plant that will just serve that site. So, in essence, there is really no need for yet another facility in the making,” he said.

Clean energy is good energy, and instead of gas exports, perhaps it is time to use the untapped natural resources Maryland has to offer.

For more information about this issue, please visit www.chesapeakeclimate.org/maryland.

Featured Image: Cove Point Rally in Baltimore, MD. (Brian Wigglesworth)