When asked, at the meeting, whether he supported allowing the coal trains in Whatcom County, Pike said he would not take a stand for or against because it was a complex question that had to do with national policy.

In response, one angry audience member shouted from the back of the room: “You’re a wimp.”

Seattle-based SSA Marine, a marine terminal operator, and Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the world, created a joint agreement for the proposal to ship strip-mined coal, through Bellingham, to Asia.

At the forum, Pike maintained ambiguity by asking rhetorical questions and attempting to show both sides of the issue in front of a predominantly anti-coal crowd.

“People need to recognize there are a lot of people in this community that are struggling financially, looking for work and trying to figure out how they’re going to survive in the current economy,” Pike said. “I don’t have all the answers, and that is part of the problem.”

More than 200 people packed into the Bellingham High School commons to attend the forum put on by RE Sources for Sustainable Communities, Climate Solutions and the Sierra Club.

RE Sources and Climate Solutions are nonprofit organizations that work to promote sustainable communities and solutions to global warming. The Sierra Club is a grassroots environmental organization that has set out to shut down every coal plant in America.

Robin Everett, associate regional representative of the Sierra Club, said coal produces 32 percent of worldwide carbon emissions, making it the leading cause of climate change.

“We’re seeking to end coal burning in America and to keep coal in the ground,” she said. “The third leg of the campaign is to make sure we don’t export it to other countries as well.”

Matt Krogh, graduate of Huxley College of the Environment and member of RE Sources, spoke of the damage trains would have on waterfront businesses along with potential rises in cancer due to train exhaust, coal dust and mercury.

“If coal is going to be transported,” Pike said, “it should be transported in cars that don’t produce dust, or with some mechanism that ensures dust won’t be spread.”

While most of the discussion centered around negative implications of the proposal, optimism remained as panelists reminded audience members that the fight is far from over.

Jean Melious, environmental law professor at Western and chair of the Whatcom County Planning Commission, said knowing as much information as possible is crucial so the community can really understand the impacts of the project.

The proposed project to ship 24 million metric tons of coal through the 80-acre site at Cherry Point is in the initial phase of a permitting process expected to take at least two years, according to RE Source’s website.

“We have a choice between having a beautiful, vibrant waterfront community,” Sierra Club representative, Everett, said. “Or we can have a dirty, dangerous coal export terminal that provides minimal jobs and doesn’t give us the healthy sustainable future we want.”