007's Covert LNG Mission Becoming Transparent.

The Malibu LNG drama is starting to get a little silly.

A couple of weeks ago I commented on the coalition of movie stars led by actor Pierce Brosnan that opposes the Cabrillo Port project. Initially they called it a safety risk, then changed tacks and played the environmental card.

While it's patently obvious that this is purely a NIMBY issue and they simply are trying to protect their privileged lifestyle, the environmental objection at least seemed germane to the debate over the proposed project-- or so I thought.

Brosnan et al, are hanging their environmental argument on greenhouse gas emissions and particualte matter that could cause asthma.

THE FACILITY IS 14 MILES OUT IN THE OCEAN. A kid in Malibu has a greater chance of getting ashthma while waiting in the parking lot at NOBU for the valet attendant to fetch Mommy's Range Rover... I mean, come on.

If Brosnan and his comrades are successful in killing Cabrillo Port, then an LNG terminal will likely go somewhere else like Mexico or Long Beach. I guess poor Mexican kids or minority families living next to the Port of Long Beach don't get asthma?

I've said it before-- California needs new, alternative energy solutions and, while controversial, LNG is a viable option that needs to be debated openly and honestly. Brosnan and company's disingenuous, self-interested smear campaign threatens to prevent that debate from taking place.

Resident opposition to drilling fueled by pollution concerns [The Graphic]