I'm a resident of East Oakland; one of the most polluted areas
in the San Francisco Bay Area, where people live on average 10-12
years less than in other parts of the Bay Area, and where Asthma,
Heart Disease and Stroke are happening at double or more the rates
of the county average. I, my family, and many people I care about
are all affected by air pollution, with related health problems
such as asthma and other chronic illnesses.
Given the
incredible contributions of EJAC--comprising members of frontline
communities like mine--during the scoping process, it would be
unconscionable to not continue to keep EJAC at the table during the
implementation of this plan.
Furthermore, I urge you to
reconsider your astronomical carbon capture targets and replace
these with strong supply and demand-side incentives to move
permanently and entirely away from dirty energy. Your reliance on
carbon capture and storage will not only subject California's poor,
redlined, and marginalized communities to increased pollution and
health risks; it will also make it easier for those in power to
fail to meet the other targets in the scoping plan, by giving them
a fallback option to "balance the books" of net carbon emissions
without actually sufficiently reducing the use of fossil fuels.
CCS is just plain greenwashing. It will keep refineries
operating and polluting for longer than they should. It will expose
our communities to increased risks, including the risk of mass
death if large quantities of CO2 are released from the ground. It
will slow down the transition away from fossil fuels, and it will
actually increase the amount of toxins, pollutants and particulates
in California's most vulnerable communities.
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