Members of the Religious Society of Friends, better known to most as “Quakers,” recognize “that of God” in every human heart and throughout the natural system that sustains all life, and we understand the moral imperative to be in reverence to this manifestation of the divine. At this point, we are called to consider whether the downstream effects of Cove Point’s proposed LNG export operations on the wellbeing of the natural world are consistent with this call to reverence. After careful deliberation, we offer the following thoughts: 1. A new environmental impact statement should be undertaken, because the export process appears to be qualitatively and quantitatively very different from the previous use of the facility for imports, and because we cannot reasonably assess possible long-term or even short-term local damage without one. 2. The overall impact of an LNG export facility cannot be meaningfully separated from the region-wide impact of “fracking” and of the construction of pipelines to bring the natural gas to the facility, and since it is widely acknowledged that “fracking” increases the risk of exposure to toxic pollutants, we should resist approving any enterprise that increases pressure to engage in this operation. 3. Since the development of a significant overseas market for exported natural gas cannot do other than increase the price of natural gas, it will increase pressure to engage in “fracking.” 4. Since this new export facility will use in its liquefaction process vast quantities of fresh water from a nonrenewable source, we recognize that it poses a serious

threat to future generations. 5. Since the extraction, processing, and consumption of natural gas produce very significant amounts of greenhouse gases, use of natural gas is at best a stopgap partial solution to the challenge of climate change. While natural gas is perhaps less “dirty” in this sense than coal, it is very far from being a “green” source of energy, and it is, of course, non-renewable. Wisdom demands that we should instead encourage the development of long-term solutions to the problem of meeting our energy needs. The Maryland Public Services Commission states that its mission encompasses the encouragement of the conservation of natural resources and the preservation of the environment. Governor O’Malley has said, “…We only have one planet….There is no either/or choice between our prosperity and our environment—we cannot create either a future where there are more jobs, or a future where there is a healthy environment – we must do both.” Friends urge the Commission to balance the profound and prolonged global environmental cost against any temporary local economic benefits as it determines whether this project should move forward.