Fear! A tool used to convince people to “see it our way.” It has been used in countries of genocide, where the targeted people were the educated, and those less educated were convinced to kill friends and relatives, by telling them things that frightened them. Powerful stuff.

Fact: Portland Pipe Line Corp. applied for, and was granted, a permit which was only withdrawn during this debate. If this ordinance does not pass, there is nothing to prohibit PPLC from getting another permit, which the city must grant.

As recently as Feb. 20, PPLC CEO Larry Wilson said, “We hope to have a project to do something with our pipeline in the near future, and that is an option that we would absolutely consider,” telling the House Fish, Wildlife and Water Resources Committee. Wilson’s statement came after months of denials by energy companies that any plans were afoot to ship tar sands oil across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

I doubt that Wilson and Secretary-Treasurer David Cyr had nothing else to do in April but chat with Senators King and Collins and Reps. Pingree and Michaud. Peter Lidiak, pipeline director for the American Petroleum Institute, joined too. Just a day in Washington?

Are these the people you trust? Removal of the permit was to quiet those of us fighting hard to really protect our waterfront from tar sands. Only passage of this ordinance will do that.

Fact: The only enterprises affected if the WPO passes are those that would export Canadian tar sands. It is narrowly crafted to accomplish this. Because cities do not have the authority to regulate pipelines or what passes through them, it could not state specific tar-sands prohibition.

No restrictions exist on maintenance or upgrades of existing equipment/accessory uses, including procedures such as biodiesel and LNG. The Comprehensive Plan is already written to prevent further development within 250 feet of our shoreline, where oil exists. This ordinance adds no further limits but would only prohibit changes that would bring tar sands oil. Period!

Fact: There would be no job loss, no tax loss, no threat to our local economy. Three well-known land-use attorneys with no financial stake in the matter (Russell Pierce, Phillip Bartlett and Orlando Delogu) wrote a six-page memo to the City Council stating their view of this ordinance and its (alleged) economic impact.

They stated, “Suggesting that the ordinance would have broad negative impacts on existing waterfront businesses is an exaggeration and not credible. It does not prohibit the continued current existing uses of the petroleum industry. It will restrict petroleum business from new uses related to lading petroleum onto boats or from expansion of uses near the short. Petroleum businesses whose primary use related to unlading petroleum from boats will continue to enjoy the existing uses…we are concerned that the opponents of the WPO have chosen to shift debate from the policies and wisdom supporting the ordinance’s passage, to unfounded fear and alarm based upon imagined readings and ungrounded misinterpretations of the language –misinterpretations that would never be indulged by a court of law…” Why is this being ignored?

Fact: Tar sands only benefits Portland Pipe Line Corp. No additional tax money or business or jobs. Just as their big money has funded this opposition to a clean environment, those same pockets would be padded if this does not pass.

Fact: Tar sands is dangerous business. It is not like crude oil but far more toxic and impossible to clean up. Spills are more frequent because passage requires three times greater pressure due to its thickness. With pipelines running close to Sebago Lake, a spill would cause loss of our clean water supply, danger to our citizens and devastation to Casco Bay. The Arkansas spill was less than 4 percent of what would pass through our city.

Fact: This Ordinance would protect the construction of more oil tanks in our Shipyard Zone of the city. Right now, under the present Comprehensive Plan, PPLC could build more oil tanks along Broadway approaching SMCC. All our discussions in city planning show that expansion of petroleum in this area should not occur.

Also, the empty tanks right next to our schools would be filled with tar sands, almost 6 million gallons, and pumped to the pier for loading onto tanker ships. Off-gassing dangerous chemicals in the process would occur where our children walk to school.

Fact: Big oil is paying big money to keep this from passing. The oil industry, most from the mothership American Petroleum, has spent more than $600,000 fighting this ordinance. What could be worth that much money? There must be some reason to put forth this kind of fight. There is – more money from tar sands. The proponents of the ordinance have spent $31,000, coming primarily from citizen donors. Yes, we have been outspent, by a lot, but we have nothing financially to gain with this ordinance…only peace of mind, health, safety and the well-being of our families and friends if tar sands are not be allowed in our great city.

The time is now to act. This threat is alive, strong and fueled by big oil.

Remember Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s words: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but everyone is not entitled to his own facts.” Know your facts…vote for the Waterfront Protection Ordinance on Nov. 5.

Rosemarie De Angelis lives in South Portland.