As a concerned citizen of San Luis Obispo County and specifically the city of Atascadero, I earnestly ask our elected officials to support Measure G, which will be on the November ballot. Voters will determine whether or not to allow more oil drilling, including fracking, in our county.
Essentially, fracking is a very dirty business, using millions of gallons of our precious and dwindling water reserves and toxic, carcinogenic chemicals. The processing and transport of the oil pollutes water, soil, and air and would be dangerous to the neighborhoods and businesses along the whole route.
The measure does not impact existing oil wells but would ban the use of fracking at those wells. The aim of Measure G is to stop new oil exploration, fracking, and drilling in our county.
Relying on and using fossil fuels goes against the Paris Climate Accord, which virtually every country on Earth has signed onto and has begun reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Believe the science and observe the facts: desertification of vast areas, melting of polar ice, extinction of many species, record-breaking heat across the world, rising sea levels, etc.
If Measure G fails to pass, the only winners will be the oil companies. The losers will be our health, economies based on tourism, and the moral obligation to halt escalating climate change while we still can.
Marty Brown
Atascadero
This article appears in Education Today 2018.
The losers will also be the local taxpayers. Why?
1) The oil companies will likely take the county to court. Monterey County experienced this and had to spend millions.
2) This would be considered a “taking” of the value of the property. The oil companies may not be able to produce, but if that is so then county would have to compensate the oil companies for the fair market value of what they are taking.
3) There are varying figures out there regarding how much in taxes will be lost. Regardless, THERE WILL BE A LOSS in tax revenue.
So how do you make up for this? Increase taxes on everyone else.
I’m all for the environment, but I prefer to take action in my own life instead of forcing compliance on some at everyone’s expense.
Myths about Measure G (paid for by Big Oil) — Get ready for a flood of misinfomation as Big Oil spends big on slick mailers, polls, and commercials (and pays professional “marketers” reply to letters to the editor) to scare you about Measure G. Big Oil cant win on the facts, so instead it will attempt to create confusion about Measure G.
Myth: Measure G will shut down the entire oil industry in SLO County.
Fact: This is plainly false as Measure G protects all current oil jobs and tax revenue by allowing existing operations to continue. (See Sec. 2 B & C of Measure G).
Myth: Measure G will bankrupt the County with millions in legal fees.
Fact: Big Oil is trying to intimidate us by threatening to sue if Measure G passes. Six other California counties have banned fracking or stopped new oil drilling projects and those bans have all been backed up in court. Monterey Countys Measure Z, passed by 57% of voters in 2016, banned fracking and wastewater injection wells. A judge ruled the fracking ban was constitutional but that injection wells could not be regulated by the County. While the case is being appealed, Monterey County did not go bankrupt and in fact its overall budget grew during the same period. SLO Countys Measure G does not include an injection well ban.
Myth: Measure G will increase local gas prices.
Fact: Big oil is wrong again as the oil drilled in our county is sent to refineries across California and then sold on an international market.
Top Reasons to Vote YES on Measure G:
Led by local citizens concerned about the water and economy of SLO County, over 20,000 voters signed to place Measure G on the November 2018 ballot to ban fracking in our county.
G Protects our Water: Bans fracking and new extreme oil drilling projects on SLO County lands. Measure G would prevent the drilling of 481 new oil wells in the Price Canyon oil field that would generate toxic wastewater and air pollution. The drilling and wastewater could contaminate local aquifers that provide drinking water to our cities.
G Protects our Economy: Drought is the new normal and our groundwater resources are more precious than ever. Agriculture and tourism annually contribute $4 billion and 40,000 jobs to SLO County. Our vibrant economy depends on reliable and safe groundwater.
Fracking is Destroying America’s Water Supply – Read all about it…
https://thinkprogress.org/fracking-is-dest…
Mr. Timewell, you are half correct in your Myth/Fact lineup, but unfortunately half the truth is a whole lie… I’ll help you get the other half.
1) Measure G doesn’t immediately shut down the oil field; HOWEVER, oil fields naturally decline. Due to this, within a very short time frame it will likely be uneconomic to produce from the Arroyo Grande oil field. As a result, the oil field would be then shut down. Why? Because of Measure G.
2) Counties that successfully banned fracking have no fracking. The courts in Measure Z did not uphold fracking, they declined to rule on it because there is NO FRACKING IN THAT COUNTY. What they did rule on was that the rest of Measure Z was not legal. The county did not pursue further legal action because the costs were too high.
3) Gas prices – no disagreement. The question I have is WHO CARES WHERE THEY SELL THE OIL? It’s the tax revenue that matters. If everything produced in SLO county should stay in SLO county, your agriculture argument goes out the window. Nobody is dictating where you sell your wine. Why should you get to dictate where they sell their oil?
Questions for you:
What makes drilling at Arroyo Grande extreme?
What is the technical explanation that supports that there will be fracking in the county?
If there is an answer to the previous question, why aren’t companies fracking now?
If you want more drinking water, why not limit wine production, as it takes an estimated 375 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of wine? Why single out one industry?
On the article you posted:
Did you notice that the study areas are NOT IN CALIFORNIA? That’s because there is very little fracking CA, because it’s not needed…
Enjoy your low heating bill this winter.