Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas

We’ll be listening in to the Case Management Conference on Monday for what are now 10 oil industry lawsuits against the County (three challenging General Plan policies, three challenging the antiquated permit ordinance that’s currently suspended until June 2022, and four challenging both). The county is being forced to spend $1 million of our tax dollars to defend climate-friendly legislation -- in the middle of a climate emergency! The chilling effect this has on local governments just trying to do the right thing is something that must be addressed. https://www.vcstar.com//ventura-county-board-o/4551368001/

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More than 90% of Californians breathe unhealthy air during some part of the year, harming people’s health. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to air pollution, but even healthy adults can be at risk. Through small actions, we can all help keep our air clean.

California state senators Monique Limon and Scott Weiner have introduced a bill that would ban fracking in California in 2027. The bill would also halt the issuance or renewal of permits for fracking at the start of 2022. It would also prohibit the issuance of new or renewed permits for oil and gas extraction within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, health care facilities, prisons and dormitories by the start of 2022. Fracking is a controversial method of extracting fossil fuels ...from rocks that has been linked to water contamination. ‘Extracting massive amounts of oil particularly with destructive techniques such as fracking is totally inconsistent with California’s commitment to a sustainable climate future,’ Wiener said . The bill would also direct the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) to identify oil and gas workers who have lost their jobs and prioritize hiring them. Gov. Gavin Newsom appears to want to phase out the practice .Last year, in an executive order aiming to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars, Newsom also said he wanted to end the issuance of new fracking permits by 2024. However, the new bill goes faster and farther than what the governor called for. (Photo : CFROG board member John Brooks & Senator Monique Limón See more

VC Reporter cover story on oil industry deception and legal violations in the effort to avoid reasonable environmental review! https://vcreporter.com//eye-on-oil-referendums-under-fire/

Far worse than we imagined. 8 million deaths a year from fossil fuel. The staggering number accounts for nearly one in five of all deaths in 2018. According to new research from Harvard University and three British universities exposure to particulate matter from the burning of fossil fuels made up 18% of global deaths in 2018 totaling 8.7 million. Here is a report on the study https://phys.org//2021-02-air-pollution-deaths-2018that-mi... Here is the study itself: https://www.sciencedirect.com//a/abs/pii/S0013935121000487

Thank you Congresswoman Julia Brownley for meeting with CFROG Executive Director Liz Beall , some CFROG board members and advisor & hydro geologist Nova Clite . Representative Brownley serves on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and listened as our team made several suggestions on matters that the federal government can do to improve conditions on our portion of the planet, Ventura County. She invited us to work with her staff to discuss possible legislation. The congress member said with the new administration in Washington it will be more likely that changes to limit the destructive nature of climate change will pass congress.

Roof top solar this year ! Save billions . https://www.latimes.com//how-rooftop-solar-could-save-amer

Have you taken the survey to help the City of Ventura develop an updated general plan? Mayor Sofia Rubalcava and her council colleagues want to hear from everyone who lives , works , shops or recreates in the city of 112 thousand people. Take a look : En español https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VenturaEncuestadeOportunidad... In English https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VenturaOpportunitiesandChall

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CFROG history! One of our first efforts to hold the Ventura County Planning Department responsible for its poor work, mistakes and favors to the oil industry. Here is a news article from October 2013. The result was the company was forced to restore the landscape it drilled on without proper permits and the planning department had to admit its errors. ************** CFROG JUMPS ON MIRADA Kimberly Rivers, OVN correspondent...Continue reading

The number of false and misleading statements made by the signature-gatherers was alarming. We documented outlandish claims from "20,000 jobs being at stake" to "this is about the old power plant" to "these new permit rules will shut down the ENTIRE oil and gas industry". The list of whoppers told to the public is a mile long! In our list of signed affidavits detailing these interactions, one of the most illuminating statements was this one: "Look, I was just told to get si...gnatures however I can, I wasn’t told I have to be honest." said one signature-gatherer. This can and should be investigated! According to the Star... "If directed by the board, county lawyers would look into whether any county agency could investigate the signature-gathering process, Walker said."

Switching from gas to electricity in the home is a goal that the gas company is fighting with our money. https://www.independent.com//its-time-for-santa-barbara-t/

Solar energy is a great replacement for energy from fossil fuels. And now it’s cheaper. Don’t let anyone tell you we can’t quickly transition to clean energy. We must. https://www.popularmechanics.com//solar-cheapest-energy-/

Report: Funds to Clean Up California Oil Wells Dangerously Low* Ventura County Has More Than Two Thousand Idle Wells.* Bonding Levels as Low as $80 Per Well Could Put Taxpayers on Hook* SACRAMENTO, Calif. A new report by the Center for Biological Diversity reveals that California’s largest oil producers have set aside only a miniscule fraction of the money that would be required to properly plug their oil and gas wells....Continue reading

CFROG along with many environmental groups needs to do more to be inclusive of all races and ethnicities. We will be making an extra effort this year under the leadership of Executive Director Liz Beall. Meanwhile the Sierra Club has elected Ramon Cruz it’s new president and isn’t afraid to criticize the founder of that group. https://insideclimatenews.org//sierra-club-ramon-cruz-envi

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Planning Commission motion on inventory of old wells continued to November 5th! ******** This abandoned well has leaked methane over a decade and a half and has likely emitted somewhere around 32.7 metric tons of the greenhouse gas , enough to melt a sizable iceberg. There are over 2 thousand of these abandoned and idle wells in Ventura County and Thursday (10-15) the Ventura County Planning Commission is being asked to authorize an inventory that can pinpoint how many and... where they are. (Continued) In our county some of the wells listed as plugged prior to 1960 were plugged using mud instead of cement, and many abandoned older wells also leak without a known cause. Without more data, we don't know how many of these compromised wells exist, or what dangers they pose. Long term, all of these wells abandoned, idle, and inadequately plugged could be environmental disasters, waiting to happen. Once we know where the climate destroying wells are - good news begins. Jobs! Jobs Jobs! Clean-up creates jobs. Between March and July of 2020, California shed 14.7% of its fossil fuel workforce . However, that same skilled workforce could be employed in clean-up of old and decaying infrastructure. Ventura County should prioritize hiring local workers who have been impacted by job losses in the industry. CFROG supports Commissioner Phil White’s motion for an inventory and you can too! Send an e-mail. To [email protected] Tell him you support Agenda Item 10 coming up November 5th. We need to cap leaks and put people to work. Here is an article about the massive job losses in oil & Gas. https://www.axios.com/oil-industry-facing-long-jobs-unemplo From Bloomberg News

Join us in celebrating #CleanAirDayCA, CFROG sent mailers to Oxnard residents but you too can take the @CleanAirDay pledge: https://www.cleanairday.org/pledge/

Every 10 minutes spent idling your vehicle releases 1 pound of carbon dioxide into the air. Pledge to turn it off on #CleanAirDayCA when you take the @CleanAirDay pledge: https://www.cleanairday.org/take-the-pledge/

In 2019, participating cities in Ventura County enrolled residents in Clean Power Alliance's 100% Green Power rate, which helps the fight against #climatechange. To learn more about CPA and about how you can save money on your electric bill, visit: cleanpoweralliance.org/customersupport/financial-assistance ____________________________________________ Los residentes en el Condado de Ventura están inscritos en la tarifa 100% Green Power de Clean Power Alliance, que ayuda a luc...har contra el cambio climático. Para obtener más información sobre CPA y sobre cómo puede ahorrar dinero en su factura de energía, visite: cleanpoweralliance.org/customersupport/financial-assistance . . . . . . . #VenturaCounty #Oxnard #Ventura #ThousandOaks See more

CFROG Announces New Executive Director !!!!!!! Liz Beall The Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG) Board of Directors announced today that Liz Beall has been selected to serve as our new Executive Director! CFROG’s Board is excited to welcome Liz Beall as our new Executive Director. said John Brooks, President of CFROG’s Board. Liz is an outspoken advocate for environmental justice and has the vision, perseverance, and knowledge needed to achieve CFROG’s goals. Liz... has a strong track record of nonprofit leadership and has dedicated her career to championing environmental sustainability. She is the founder of two Bay Area nonprofits: Full Circle Farm, an 11-acre educational farm on a public middle school campus, and Wild Child, a wilderness-based environmental education program. As the former Interim Executive Director for Green Foothills, Liz oversaw a local environmental advocacy group responsible for significant victories for Bay Area open space preservation. She has also served as a nonprofit consultant for over a decade, helping numerous nonprofits, including Latino Outdoors, FIRST 5 Santa Clara County, The Living Classroom, and The Children & Nature Network develop robust new programs and communications strategies. She is a founding member of the Bay Area Children & Nature Collaborative and the Santa Clara County Food System Alliance. Liz moved to Ventura County in 2018. She embodies the values that drive CFROG’s mission to combat the climate crisis locally by working to shape the transition from fossil fuels to a carbon-free economy in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Liz holds her M.Sc. in medical anthropology from Oxford University, and her Bachelors’ from San Jose State University. A gifted storyteller, she is also a graduate of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television. She, her husband John, and their two daughters live in Oxnard. As a passionate advocate for a sustainable future, I am incredibly excited to help CFROG continue to expand its horizons both programmatically and geographically and make a positive and lasting impact on the future of the Central Coast. Amidst the COVID crisis and climate-change driven wildfires, climate activism has taken on a new sense of urgency. In joining CFROG, I feel a renewed sense of purpose. Urgency and purpose, joined together, is what it will take to tackle the most urgent issue of our time: To end the vicious cycle of fossil fuel dependency and contamination of our air, soil, and water. For a personal message from Liz go here! https://www.cfrog.org/cfrog_welcomes_new_executive_director

An incredible win today at the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. A proposal for oil wells in the Upper Ojai that we have been fighting for 5 years has been continued until January. At that time new provisions in the VC General Plan will stop the full time flaring, tanker truck use on Koenigstein Road and drilling 800 feet from a home that could have been approved today. The vote was 4 to 1 with only the oil industry supervisor Kelly Long voting no. The motion by S...upervisor Steve Bennett was to postpone so that by then the new general plan rules can take effect. Supervisor Linda Parks was fantastic again forcing planning staff to replay a County video from years ago that actually shows how dangerous tankers are at that Highway 150 and Koenigstein Road intersection. That safety question will be moot when the new general plan kicks in because the county has decided pipelines must be used. Thanks to all who submitted comments and testified by zoom. Our strength is in science and community. This proposal by Carbon California is the successor project from Mirada Petroleum that we successfully sued to stop in Superior Court. Now there is a new but also flawed environmental impact report which now must be revised again to take account the new climate friendly rules. Thanks everyone. John Brooks President Merrill Berge Vice President Helen Conly Secretary Suzanne Harvey Treasurer Carol Holly Research Tomás Rebecchi Organizing Karina Kaye Youth Outreach See more

The collapse of the oil industry could be coming sooner than you think. https://www.houstonchronicle.com//BP-buries-dagger-into-oi