By Deborah Contreras
“Saving Laguna Madre” is a web mini-series with stories of the Rio Grande Valley’s resistance to the three proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals: Annova LNG, Rio Grande LNG, and Texas LNG. These massive industrial terminals are slated to be built next to the homes of our Laguna Madre communities: Long Island Village, Port Isabel, Laguna Heights, and Laguna Vista, Texas.
In the episode “Our Home,” we meet Stefanie Herweck a local volunteer organizer with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Sierra Club who gives us a breakdown of the LNG process; from extraction by fracking in the Eagle Ford Shale, transmission by pipeline, liquefaction at the export terminal, and transportation overseas. The episode also includes clips of the community as it looks now, without the presence of LNG or any fossil fuel industry or refineries. We also meet Ed McBride, a retired fire chief from Colorado and board member of the Long Island Village community, located just a mile and half from the proposed Texas LNG site. The board of Long Island Village voted to oppose the LNG projects and has intervened on all of the company permit applications.
I wanted to include these interviews so that viewers could see that we are regular people who have lived here for many years and care about the future of our community. Making this web series has introduced me to local people that I never would have met without this cause.These people are very real and good and but do not have the money to pack up and leave if they don’t wish to live near a hazardous, polluting industrial facility. My big concern,is that people don’t know what’s at stake if LNG comes to town. I want the community to learn about the movement against LNG and the dangers our community could face if these export terminals are built. My family and I plan to continue to live here and I want to defend our community and quality of life.
Episode Two Sneak Preview:
Episode 2 will provide more information about LNG and dive into the process of producing this fuel. The episode will also show what an LNG export terminal looks like, present background information on why LNG companies want to build here, and include commentary from the Port of Brownsville on their reasons for supporting LNG.
About the Director:
Deborah Contreras is a student at Texas Southmost College and a long-time resident of Brownsville, Texas. She is currently working towards obtaining her teaching certificate and continuing her education at the University of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. Debbie has organized with the Save RGV from LNG Coalition for over a year.
