Journalism students work with InvestigateWest on coal terminal story series

Students in the Journalism 450 class at Western Washington University taught by Carolyn Nielsen have written a package of stories examining the possibility of a coal terminal being installed at Cherry Point.

Students worked with InvestigateWest founder Robert McClure on the stories, which have been published in the Seattle PostGlobe.

The question at the heart of the debate, and the subject of the students' work, according to McClure: "Will the county require studies to gauge impacts such as climate change, air pollution, coal dust blowing off trains, businesses and services cut off for what could total two hours every day while the trains pass,  and, yes, motorists’ time waiting for trains? Or will the Whatcom County Planning Department limit its focus to the environmental impacts on and around the 350-acre site where the coal terminal is to be located?"