[Community Rights Network] FYI Santa Barbara InitiativeWhy a Ban on Fracking is Critical for the Climate (SBView)

[Shannon Biggs]

I was working with these folks on municipal RB ban, but when they decided to
go county-wide they had a number of folks that felt they should take a
different track. Some really great friends down there protecting their
water. 

Best, Shannon


On 4/15/14 11:52 PM, "Baile Oakes" <baileoakes at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> Another gem from Rachel Binah
>> 
>> 
>> Begin forwarded message:
>> 
>>> From: Jillian Johnson <cookiesinheaven at gmail.com>
>>> Date: April 15, 2014 1:38:06 PM PDT
>>> To: unfrack-california at googlegroups.com
>>> Subject: [unfrack-california] Why a Ban on Fracking is Critical for the
>>> Climate (SBView)
>>> Reply-To: unfrack-california at googlegroups.com
>>> 
>>>  
>>> High-intensity oil production could triple County greenhouse gas emissions.
>>> World powers are running out of time to slash their use of high-polluting
>>> fossil fuels and stay below agreed limits on global warming. This is the
>>> conclusion of a draft U.N. study to be approved this week at a meeting of
>>> government officials and climate scientists in Berlin.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Santa Barbara County voters will likely have a chance to choose whether they
>>> want be a part of the solution or part of the problem. An organization
>>> called the Water Guardians is currently collecting signatures to qualify an
>>> initiative to ban fracking and other high-intensity petroleum production in
>>> Santa Barbara County for the November ballot. Whether this effort succeeds
>>> or fails will likely determine greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade
>>> in our County ­ a critical period during which we need to reduce emissions
>>> in order to head-off the worst impacts of climate change.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The Water Guardians Initiative proposes to ban high-intensity oil
>>> production: Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in which water, chemicals and
>>> sand are blasted underground to break up the rock and extract oil;
>>> acidizing, which adds hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid to dissolve the
>>> rock to extract oil; and cyclic steam injection, which uses large amounts of
>>> water, steam and energy to heat the thick, heavy oil so it will flow more
>>> readily. There are many local environmental concerns with these techniques
>>> which can lead to air pollution and water contamination, and expansion of
>>> these techniques would also lead to large increases in greenhouse gas
>>> emissions in the County.
>>> Unlike in other parts of the country where fracking for natural gas occurs
>>> which produces less carbon dioxide when burned than coal and oil, in
>>> California, the fracking of the Monterrey Shale is for oil with no potential
>>> climate benefit. Since the Monterey Shale formation that extends throughout
>>> California is potentially one of the largest shale oil reserves in the
>>> country, a ramp up in unconventional oil production would increase state
>>> emissions and hinder the state¹s ability to take a lead in reducing
>>> emissions and transitioning to cleaner sources of energy.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> In Santa Barbara County, one company alone (Santa Maria Energy) has 7,700
>>> possible well locations. Using the same rate of emissions per well as their
>>> current well project, that works out to 4,971,029 tons of greenhouse gases
>>> per year. That is the equivalent of almost one million cars, and it is
>>> nearly three times the total current total Countywide emissions. That is
>>> just to extract the oil. It doesn¹t include additional emissions from
>>> transporting, refining or burning that oil.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> That is a staggering number. It means that Santa Barbara County could
>>> eliminate a hundred percent of its emissions ‹ stop driving, get all our
>>> power from solar and wind, eliminate all agricultural emissions ‹ and still
>>> triple emissions in the County just from this oil extraction.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Nor is Santa Maria Energy the only company making big investments in these
>>> carbon-intensive forms of oil production. One Chinese mining company,
>>> Beijing-based Goldleaf Jewelry Co, just invested $665 million and is ramping
>>> up production in North County. The Water Guardian¹s Initiative would protect
>>> the air, water and environment that make the County a desirable place to
>>> work and live from these outside speculators.
>>> Santa Barbara County should take a lead in rejecting the most polluting
>>> forms of oil production and transitioning to clean sources of energy. Of all
>>> the things we can do locally in regard to climate change, this would have
>>> the highest impact and is critically important at this time. The stakes
>>> could not be greater. Our actions now will determine the future liveability
>>> of the planet.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Dr. Catherine Gautier is professor emerita with the Geography Department at
>>> the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was one of 21 climate
>>> scientists who signed a letter to Governor Jerry Brown calling for a halt to
>>> fracking and other unconventional well stimulation techniques in the state
>>> due to climate concerns. She is also co-author of a recent academic book on
>>> fracking and Shale gas extraction published in November 2013 by Odile Jocob,
>>> France.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://www.santabarbaraview.com/why-a-ban-on-fracking-is-critical-for-the-cl
>>> imate65636/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  -- 
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>> 
> 
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