Letter: Voting ‘yes’ on Measure G more important than ever
To the editor,
–In light of the Trump administration’s decision to open up l.6 Million Acres of Federal lands including San Luis Obispo County to fracking and other extreme oil extraction methods, Measure G on the November ballot becomes even more important to the preservation of our county. Measure G will ban new oil and gas wells and prevents fracking on unincorporated lands within SLO County.
Unfortunately, it has no authority over Federal lands like Los Padres National Forest or the Carizzo National Monument. A yes vote on Measure G and the subsequent creation of laws banning new oil and gas wells and fracking will send a strong message to Federal officials to stop encouraging unwanted fracking and other extreme oil extracting methods in our fine county.
The ‘no on g’ lobbyists, financed by Chevron and Sentinel Peak Energy Resources, are sharing their exaggerated “talking points,” distortions, and untruths. The core lie being that Measure G supposedly shuts down the Arroyo Grande oil field (in Price Canyon), when, in fact, the Measure exempts existing oil extraction (see Sec. 2, C& D Measure G) and protects existing job and taxes. Another distortion is that supposedly “fracking will never happen in SLO County,” However, the opposition won’t explain why in neighboring Kern County there are thousands of fracked oil wells or that fracking was attempted in Monterey Country until a Federal judge intervened in 2013 and stopped it and required an Environmental Impact Statement be prepared. Both of these counties share a similar geology with ours in SLO county.
Now that the Thump Administration is encouraging fracking and extreme extraction of new oil, the Big Oil assertion that “fracking will never occur in SLO county” will be put to the test. Perfect timing for “Yes” on Measure G. Become involved at YESonMeasureG.org
Charles Varni, Co-Chair
Coalition to Protect SLO County
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