Green Corps organizers and alumni ran a successful campaign to convince Shell to abandon plans to build off-shore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Western Gulf of Mexico region.

With Shell Oil company proposing to build eight off-shore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Western Gulf of Mexico region, Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) called on Green Corps organizers to launch a grassroots campaign to raise the visibility of the issue in key Gulf states and build an active network of individuals and groups focused on stopping the flawed proposal.  The proposed LNG terminals would heat up and chlorinate hundreds of millions of gallons of Gulf seawater each day, threatening the health of local fisheries and the regional economy. “Green Corps’ creativity and flexibility were perfectly suited to help us launch a regional grassroots effort to protect the fisheries of the Gulf of Mexico.

Green Corps organizers worked in Pensacola, Florida; Houston, Texas;  Mobile, Alabama;  and New Orleans, Louisiana to educate the public on the issue and conduct targeted outreach to commercial and recreational fishermen.  Green Corps organizers conducted LNG education forums for fisherman groups about the dangers of Shell’s proposal and mobilized these individuals and groups to advocate for a safer, fish-friendly technology.  Across the Gulf, Green Corps organizers signed on 85 charter boat captains, fisherman groups, and businesses in support of the Safe LNG Campaign. 

Green Corps organizers also utilized media and internet organizing to put pressure on Shell Oil.  Conducted through GRN’s campaign headquarters, the organizers built a list of e-activists who  generated faxes and emails to Shell Oil.  By the end of the campaign, more than 22,000 e-actions had been generated by the organizers’ outreach, as well as twelve media hits in local and regional papers, such as The Mobile Register and The Times-Picayune. 

The organizing done by Green Corps organizers laid the groundwork for a successful campaign, helping to generate enough grassroots pressure to convince Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and Alabama Governor Bob Riley to oppose the potentially dangerous open-loop process. Their opposition set the stage for Shell Gas and Power to abandon its plans for Gulf Landing, a terminal off Cameron, Louisiana, opposed by fishing and conservation interests.  Three Green Corps graduates were instrumental in carrying the campaign over the finish line - Green Corps 1997 Aaron Viles (GRN Campaign Director), Green Corps 2006 Dan Favre (GRN Organizer), and Green Corps 2006 Stephanie Powell (GRN Program Associate).