On Sept. 26, the Environmental Awareness Club staged a climate strike on the Edinburg campus against UTRGV’s affiliation with LNG and to bring awareness to current climate issues.
Houston-based NextDecade Corp. is developing Rio Grande LNG, a planned multibillion-dollar natural gas liquefaction and export project, according to its website. The pipeline will take natural gas from the Eagle Ford Shale, Permian Basin, and other resources. The liquid natural gas will be transported through pipes to the Port of Brownsville. From there, the liquefied natural gas is exported and sold in foreign markets.
On Aug. 31, 2016, UTRGV President Guy Bailey and NextDecade founder, chairman and CEO Kathleen Eisbrenner signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a strategic partnership to foster STEM-based education programs, research and job training opportunities for UTRGV students.
The MOU ended on Aug. 31 of this year.
Around 50 people showed up to the strike, which started at the Bronc statue, went through the middle of campus and ended at the Ballroom. Posters were handed out with phrases like “UTRGV not LNG” and “NO PIPELINE,” while chants were shouted during the march.
“We are here because we are taking a stand against big corporations that have polluted our lands and are continuing to pollute lands and harm our people,” said Marisol Cervantes, president of the EAC and a philosophy senior. Cervantes listed the possible impacts of having this project in the Rio Grande Valley, which are chemical pollution, loss of habitats, unprecedented evacuations, oil spills and having a negative effect on eco-tourism.
“We would like to ask [President Bailey] if he can separate away from the memorandum of understanding between the LNG companies,” she said. “The partnership that he made with them is not representative of the people here at UTRGV, and many of us do not want it.”
Jacqueline Hernandez, a senior sociology and Mexican American Studies major who attended the strike, compared the LNG project to a similar one in Houston.
“They create such a smell; it creates a toxic environment, so I don’t know why the campus would want to support something against the environment and something against our livelihood,” Hernandez said.
The Rider reached out to the company behind Rio Grande LNG for comment, but it did not return any calls.
“I think those types of protests from students are part of an institution of higher learning,” Patrick Gonzales, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications and university spokesman told The Rider. “We have thousands of students that are passionate about a lot of topics, and as an institution of higher learning, we recognize the freedom of expression and speech that everybody on our campus community has. We’re very understanding and welcoming of the opportunity for healthy and constructive debate.”
Another attendee in the strike was Jessica Gil, a senior majoring in sociology, and she said having strikes like this one is essential.
“It’s important to bring awareness to these issues because the environment affects everybody, it’s not just a select group of people,” Gil said. “It affects everyone. What we’re trying to do is fight for everyone.”
On Oct.1, the Cameron County Commissioners’ Court voted 3-2 to approve an abatement agreement with Annova LNG, another liquefied natural gas project. Under the agreement, Annova LNG receives a 10-year tax abatement and makes direct payments to the county of $5.5 million for community projects, in addition to “$500,000 annually in a payment in lieu of taxes,” according to its website.
“We care about our future generations,” Cervantes said. “We care about our future as well. And, by making more fossil fuel industries and by promoting it, we are going further away from the route that we need to get to, which is a sustainable future where we will have clean air, clean water and growth of our lands, not extinction.”
