LNG and the Columbia River Keepers

Last week I was Board Host for a debate-format panel discussion at the City Club of Portland. The topic was a proposed LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) terminal on the Columbia River, a few miles upstream from Astoria.

As Board Host I got to ask the first question, and I asked one that was almost certainly inappropriate coming from the person in that role. A good Board Host question is thoughtful, balanced, and invites the audience into the conversation. It may explore ambiguities in the presentation, or draw attention to an aspect of the topic not covered by the speakers, or press on an apparent contradiction. It really shouldn't be an attack from one side or the other.

My question was partisan enough to be seen as an attack. I told the River Keepers' speaker that as far as I could tell, if LNG was kept out of Oregon, and my family ended up cold and shivering in the dark because of it, his organization would consider that a success.

This question from me, particularly in my role as Board Host, upset several of the more fluttery members of the audience.

One audience member - quivering like a drenched cat with poorly directed outrage - characterized it as "shameful". Yes, it was a lousy board host question, but that's not what got people upset. The upset ones universally were deeply in the tank for (i.e. on the side of) the Riverkeepers. Their upset-ness stemmed from that emotional attachment to one side of the debate, and my obvious disdain for "their" side.

Being in the minority is a test of one's courage. Being in the majority is a test of one's tolerance. So far I'm holding up my end pretty well, and the side of intolerant outrage is the side that could appropriately feel shame.

And my question was essentially unanswerable. The commercial firm that wants to build the LNG plant will happily jump through whatever safety, environmental, or regulatory hoops are put up, because they want to profitably supply energy in LNG form to the region. This is inherently a position of accommodation and compromise.

The eco-fanatics will happily add, move, and change the hoops to ensure that the firm cannot meet them, because they only care about their vision for the river (and restricting commercial uses of it), not about Oregon's energy needs. Theirs is inherently a position of extremism and non-compromise.

And that's as it should be for the River Keepers. They aren't the "balanced energy plan for Oregon" keepers - they are the RIVER keepers. That's their thing. If they backed off of that to be "moderate" they'd be betraying their purpose. (They can't admit that, generally.)

It's for the rest of us to be the ones with moderation and perspective, to listen to both sides and discount at least some of the eco-hysteria and the capitalist puffery and find a workable answer.

And that is a point that many of our more committed leftist City Club members don't want to hear. I made them hear it and they didn't much like it.

Tough.

Control your Inbox

From a trusted source comes this posting and link to an excellent Google Lecture on getting your email inbox to zero, and how it can boost your productivity.

The basic idea is to use your inbox as a starting point only - for each new email, DECIDE what to do with it and get it resolved, so you can get back to work.

There are only five things you can do with an email. These are the VERBS.

Delete (or Archive)
Delegate (Forward and Followup)
Respond (Reply)
Defer (Wait)
Do

I've been doing this for some months now, and it's working well. For each new email, I ask, what action do I need to take with this?

If there isn't an action for me to take, or if I've already taken the action, I delete the email.

If it's something I should delegate, I forward it, I often cc: the original person so they see it getting forwarded, and I move the original to a "@Pending" folder that I browse every so often (2-3 times a week) so I can check in with my delegee and my original requester.

If I can resolve it by responding, I do - as briefly as I can. Then I delete the original, or perhaps move it to "Archive".

If I can't handle it now and I do need to handle it, I move it to "@ActOn".

And if it involves an action other than an email reply - maybe walking a folder over to someone, or putting an appointment on my calendar, or making a brief call - I simply do it, and then delete the email.

When I left the office today my email inbox was empty. It felt VERY good.