Thanks to Tristan
Partridge and Javiera Barandiaran for pointing out the deceptive
statistics presented by ERG Energy at the Santa Barbara County Planning
Commission hearing in Santa Maria on March 13. Partridge and Barandiaran detail
solid academic research that shows that the greenhouse gas emissions from oil
operations in Cat Canyon are almost double what the oil corporation presented.
Furthermore, the amount of oil that California imports was equally misrepresented by ERG.
I would like to add another gem to that information. It was recently
reported that the five largest oil and gas companies in the U.S. spend
nearly $200 million a year lobbying to delay, control, or block policies to
tackle climate change. Chevron, BP, and ExxonMobil were at the
head of that list, the report said.