Open letter to 1st District Supervisor Das Williams and Planning Commissioner Michael Cooney:
We in California know, by painful
experience, the new realities and real problems caused by Climate Change,
including more destructive forest fires, mudslides, and more frequent drought.
And you, Das, have spoken often and eloquently about our need to take it
seriously and meet this challenge now. Commissioner Cooney, I hope and presume
you may hold similar beliefs and convictions.
Big tobacco companies knew for decades
that their product sickens and kills. Yet, they covered up the facts, spent
millions to confuse the issue in public discourse, and lied until they could
lie no longer … until the truth became too obvious to too many people and until
they were successfully sued for billions of dollars.
As with most of us, you have likely had
relatives, friends, and neighbors who have died from the harmful effects of tar
in cigarettes. Organic chemicals that share molecular characteristics with this
poisonous and cancer-causing substance are also found in huge quantities in
and around oil company operations.
Today, Das and Michael, there are
companies in another large and powerful industry that want to expand
dramatically in our county. They too have attempted to hide the facts about the
harm done by their operations. They too spend millions to muddy the public
waters and to influence lawmakers. And they too will continue to do this until
we say, “No.” Until you say, “No.”
As you well know, our County Planning
Department recently completed a final report on ERG’s proposal for massive new
drilling in Cat Canyon. It clearly states that it would add “250,000 metric
tons of CO2 equivalent” to our atmosphere. Think of the harmful effects. Try to
imagine an additional 550 million pounds of carbon dioxide added to the
atmosphere, right here, each year, if this one company is granted permission.
And, of course, there are other companies waiting in line to do the same.
Further, and of critical importance,
Supervisor Williams and Commissioner Cooney, consider the possible mitigation
of just this one Class I impact. Would a plan to reduce by over 99 percent or
to thoroughly compensate for this greenhouse gas dumping be truly verifiable
and enforceable over the long life of the project? Or is this, too, a
convenient tactic and contrivance, just as low-tar cigarettes were for tobacco
companies?
Honestly, how could we be sure about any
claimed mitigation and how could the oil companies be held appropriately
accountable if they failed to fully deliver over the 30 to 50 years of the
project? With another clever declaration of bankruptcy, they could easily
survive and try to drill here again.
Please continue to help move our county
forward in smart, healthful, and sustainable directions, in ways that really
bring jobs and that benefit our economy. Vote to reject these projects. After
all, while they don’t bring in much new employment or tax revenue, they do
cause significant problems and present thoroughly unacceptable risks.