Common Ground VOLUME 1, NUMBER 4
Take Kaylee Home TM
APRIL 2010
See Page 13
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Weaving a case for jobs by Gordon Shearer an estimated 2.5 million labor At Weaver’s Cove Energy, we hours with $125 million in direct are excited to be moving forward wages. What are some of the union with one of the largest investments trades that will be needed during in Southern New England in construction? Operating engineers, decades. Our proposed $700 welders, electricians, carpenters, million project -- including the construction of an offshore berth in pipe fitters, laborers, plumbers, Teamsters, sheet metal workers, Mt. Hope Bay, a pipeline transfer cement masons, steel workers, and system, and an onshore LNG iron workers among many others. storage facility in Fall River -- is an Once operational, the terminal essential solution to meeting the will employ 50 highly paid workers, area’s need for additional cleansupport an additional 350 jobs, and burning natural gas supplies. We are committed to designing, generate $105 million in annual direct and indirect economic constructing, and operating the benefits, including tax payments to safest and most secure LNG area cities and towns. terminal possible. We are also The 20 percent increase in the committed to listening to and supply of gas created by our project working with community members will result in lower natural gas who understandably have questions bills, and since natural gas is used about our project. That’s why to generate electricity, it will also for the past eight years we’ve mean lower electric bills for area participated in dozens of state and residents and businesses. In a 2007 federal public forums to address report, ISO community New England, concerns. As Weaver’s Cove will hire up to which the project operates the review process 1,000 skilled local union trade region’s power moves forward, workers to work an estimated grid, forecast we look forward 2.5 million labor hours with that lowering to continued natural public $125 million in direct wages. gas prices input and could bring engagement. electricity cost savings of $10 billion There are a number of annually. Our LNG terminal will important regional and community help New England realize these costs benefits that our facility will create. savings and strengthen the region’s First and foremost during the future economic competitiveness. current economic downturn, our Despite the promise of jobs project will generate desperately and lower energy prices, there are needed jobs. During the project’s a number of special interest groups three year construction, Weaver’s who are determined to block our Cove will hire up to 1,000 skilled project at all costs. Groups like local union trade workers to work Save The Bay, Save Bristol Harbor, and certain elected officials have For More Information Visit made unfounded www.WeaversCove.com and factually Get the Facts About LNG at incorrect claims www.LNGFactCheck.com about the safety, environmental, and economic impacts of our
project in an ongoing attempt to whip up opposition among the public and local elected officials. The concern most frequently voiced in opposition to Weaver’s Cove is that shipping LNG is extremely dangerous and will threaten the safety of nearby communities, as well as require the Bay to be “closed” whenever an LNG tanker passes through. An associated claim is that LNG tankers create a risk to the Pell and Mt. Hope bridges that are essential to area residents. The facts belie these claims. First, LNG is not explosive nor stored under pressure. According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), “Although a large amount of energy is stored in LNG, it cannot be released rapidly enough to cause the overpressures associated with an explosion. LNG vapors (methane) mixed with air are not explosive in an unconfined environment.” In 50-plus years of shipping history, LNG tankers have made over 55,000 voyages and traveled more than 128 million miles without a major incident. LNG has been shipped safely into Tokyo, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, for nearly 40 years. Closer to home, LNG tankers have safely transited under Boston’s Tobin Bridge for over 35 years without incident. Indeed, hundreds of LNG ships have safely maneuvered backwards under the Tobin Bridge which has the same vertical clearance as the Mt. Hope Bridge. Economic life on either side of that bridge has not come to a grinding halt as the opposition would have you believe would be the case in Rhode Island. Given this excellent safety record and the expert knowledge of local marine pilots, there is no reason to believe that LNG shipments pose any threat to area residents or the Pell and Mt. Hope bridges. Indeed, the U.S. Coast See WEAVER’S COVE Page 6
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Teachers shoulder too much blame for ills of schools Unmotivated students cited By Robert A. Salerno As a public school teacher for 47 years, it is very disappointing to me that one of our noble professions is under constant attack by the local print media and radio pundits, most of whom have not been in a public school for at least 20 years. It would be great if these so-called “experts,” reporters and talk-show hosts with 20-hour work weeks, visited various public schools in order to comment from personal knowledge instead of hearsay. I submit that they might learn that the problems of public education do not lie with the teachers but with the students themselves. Although many youngsters try to be good students, there are far too many who do not. These boys and girls should be called “attendees,” ones who go to school but give little or no effort. Their numbers are larger than ever and I will leave it to our educational leaders to find out why this is happening in many areas of our state. These unmotivated students hurt their parents, classmates, school and society. According to the research, this begins to appear in middle school and becomes worse as these “attendees” move to the high school level. This phenomenon is not the fault of the classroom teacher. Are we so naïve as to think that all of the “good” teachers are in Barrington, East Greenwich, or South Kingstown? In Providence, are all the “good” highschool teachers at Classical High School, one of the state’s finest schools? If the answer to the questions above is no, as I believe, then what is the difference between the successful schools and the failing ones? Although many students from low-achieving schools do succeed despite many obstacles, there are too many who do not. Let us put the onus on those attendees who give little or no effort. They are found in every school in our state but in differing numbers. Instead of worrying about seniority, teacher evaluations, and teacher salaries, educational leaders should spend their time and effort trying to discover why so many boys and girls have so little regard for a good education. Blaming teachers may improve ratings or subscriptions but it does nothing to raise the proficiency of our students. I challenge all who read this to visit one or more See SCHOOLS Page 5