One week ago today, 160 doctors in Whatcomb County, Washington released a statement. Their findings? Additional coal traveling through their community would lead to more asthma, heart attacks, bronchitis, emphysema, strokes, cognitive delays, and more.

They're up against the same challenges that Billings faces. Increased coal export bound for Asian markets threatens to triple train traffic in Billings, clogging downtown Billings for more than 6 additional hours per day with trains. Burlington Northern reports that each loaded train car will give off as much as 500 pounds of coal dust. That means that coal trains headed through Billings will give off somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.4 million pounds of toxic coal dust per day on their path from the mine to west coast ports.

Fortunately, we've got some lead time, and we can do something about it if we so choose.

Join YVCC for our Annual Meeting and Potluck at 5:00 PM on September 18th at Home on the Range. Come eat good food and learn about what's going on in Billings around school gardens, a green library, the renovation of YVCC's Local Foods Buying Club, and help us decide if we should take on coal export through Billings as our next big issue. As always, it can't happen without you.

For more information, please contact:
Svein Newman
Field Organizer
Northern Plains Resource Council
220 South 27th Street, Suite A
Billings, MT 59101
Phone: 406.248.1154 x108
Fax: 406.248.2110
svein@northernplains.org
http://www.northernplains.org