The Phillips 66 rail extension is safer than the alternatives 

My family has been in San Luis Obispo County for more than 300 years and dates back to the Spaniards as well as the Chumash and Salinan heritage. I have sincere and deep concerns for my community. Therefore, I think improvement and progress is important, but we have a lifestyle we want to maintain, and Phillips 66 Rail Extension Project is the safer alternative.

We use oil for every part of life. Everything and anything requires energy to create and to work. Food gets transported into grocery stores. Tires on bikes and cellphones we use for every possible capacity are also byproducts of oil. I care about the environment; I would rather have three to five trains a week transporting oil than the potential need for 195 trucks a day. Our roads are not equipped to handle that many trucks, and this would promote more traffic and pose a higher threat of accidents. This would cut down the carbon emissions and control rising gas prices.

If the project is not approved, and trucks are not an option, what is the alternative? Will it be us asking our elected officials for more power plants to satisfy our energy consumption, or will we revert to the Dark Ages?

-- Melody Bragg - San Luis Obispo