Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Mendocino County Democrats Call for a Prohibition on New Gas Stations

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The following is a press release issued by the GrassRoots Institute:


[Stock photo by Matt LaFever]

The Mendocino County Democratic Party last weekend released a resolution calling for a prohibition on the construction of new gasoline stations in Mendocino County. The resolution, which it justifies with factual statements regarding Climate Change and the actions already taken by State and Local authorities, supports the campaign launched by the Climate Crisis Working Group of The GrassRoots Institute late last year. 

The resolution references Climate Emergency Declarations passed by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors in 2020 and in 2023 as well as the ambitious goals set by the State of California to transition away from a dependency on fossil fuels for transportation. Furthermore, the resolution cites the potential health risks gas stations pose when it comes to hazardous materials as well as the fact that fossil fuel infrastructure facilities are typically located in low-income neighborhoods that are disproportionally impacted. 

“Fossil fuel use imposes deep and long-standing racial injustice. In every drop that comes out of a gasoline dispenser, there is a trail of devastation for communities of color and the environment around the world that leads all the way back to the point of extraction of crude oil from the ground in places like Nigeria, Ecuador, and Kern County California. Low-income communities of color in the US and around the world, “frontline communities” are poisoned and/or displaced by effluent and emissions from these operations; low-income communities along rail and roadways are threatened by the hazard of oil and gas transportation; similar historically disadvantaged communities of color near refineries and gas processing facilities, “fenceline communities,” face respiratory disorders, cancer, and death rates much higher than the national average. Indigenous communities around the world are severely impacted by pumping and pipelines;” 

Furthermore, with the ongoing transition to zero or low-emission vehicles, studies have shown that there will be a declining need for gas stations over time and some will likely struggle to remain viable businesses. And, when a gas station goes out of business and the owner declares bankruptcy or otherwise refuses to clean up the site, the public often gets stuck with the costs of remediation. 

Lynne Atkins, Chair of the Mendocino County Democratic Party Central Committee, released the following statement: “The climate science is clear and has been for many years – we need to phase out the use of fossil fuels. Continuing to build fossil fuel infrastructure or gas stations makes no sense, especially when Mendocino County already has a sufficient number of gas stations to meet our needs. Mendocino County Democrats therefore support the GrassRoots Institute’s campaign to prohibit the construction of new gas stations, a campaign that is consistent with the two Climate Emergency Declarations that the County has already passed.” 

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Last month, the Climate Crisis Working Group of The GrassRoots Institute (GRI), working collaboratively with local residents, successfully lobbied the Planning Commission to deny a use permit for a proposed new gas station in Redwood Valley. GRI will be pursuing its campaign to prohibit the construction of new gas stations county-wide in the coming weeks and months. For more information, please visit our web page at: 

www.GrassRoots-Institute.org/nonewgasstations

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4 COMMENTS

  1. More hysteria from those who would have you believe the sky is falling. It’s so over the top, especially the racist’s part, that people of sound mind are laughing at you. Do you think that asking us to believe that the resolution is “justifie(d) with factual statements” is persuasive? All of those predictions of catastrophe have not come to pass, and everyone knows it. But you plow ahead regardless and think that people will be better off driving EVs on the coast instead of gas-powered cars. Good grief.

  2. It would be a magic trick to produce a continuous supply of electricity without burning fuel and would violate the Laws of Thermodynamics. Renewable energy is intermittent and requires massive battery packs. By the time all of that is built, there is a net loss of energy.

    The United States produces less than 15 percent of the world’s emissions. All of these restrictions will do NOTHING but hurt the U.S.

    When the power grid goes down in an all electric United States we are DONE!

    Scientists went public with their global warming scare in 1983. Their predictions never come true.

    In the late 1800s after a series of heat waves, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius predicted that burning coal would cause global warming.

    This whole thing is LUDICROUS.

  3. Just another act of ridiculous virtue signaling. If there is genuine care and concern for the community how about a ban on new marijuana dispensaries? That would be effort better spent

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MendoFever Staff
MendoFever Staff
Editor's Note: Whenever an article's byline reads "MendoFever Staff", the contents of that article were not composed by any of our reporters. Types of writing that will be attributed to "MendoFever Staff" include press releases, letters to the editor, op-eds, obituaries— essentially writing that is not produced by a reporter.

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