What is on my mind? Well it is Measure J in adjoining San Benito county. This Measure J proposes to amend the general plan to ban high intensity petroleum operations in San Benito county. Low intensity petroleum operations, however, are not affected by this measure. ballotpedia.org/San_Benito_County_Fracking_Ban_Initiative,_Measure_J_(November_2014)#Text_of_measure This measure in plain language amends the general plan to ban fracking for Monterey shale oil. Regular drilling for oil is not affected. Since we live in Monterey County we have no say in this argument, however. What happens in San Benito County, however, affects people living across the street in Aromas and down the watershed in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. But that is not our issue, it is San Benito County voters issue. Lest I be accused of being an outside agitator and in the interest of free speech, however, here is my take--. I always like to follow the money when it comes to understanding a political issue. With this measure, I get the sense that this is about money. Possibly lots of money. Big Oil has donated its fair share. (why are they not considered outside agitators?) Especially because they certainly could not be concerned about regular oil drilling because that is not affected by this measure? What then? Could it be that there is not that much of this kind of oil left anyway? Monterey Shale on the other hand is another story. news.nationalgeographic/news/energy/2013/05/130528-monterey-shale-california-fracking/ It appears that there might be lots of oil down there, but in order to extract it you have to use chemicals in the drilling process. These chemicals can then pollute the ground water. Big Corporations will tell you that they can control the chemicals they use in their operations. Remember Hinckly, Ca where residents were told that the chemicals were harmless but it ended up poisoning them. PG&E lost that lawsuit ala Erin Brockovitch. Back to San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.Granted it is nice living here. The rural life does have its plusses. Great views, room to let the animals and kids play, quiet life styles. There is trouble in the air however. We are sitting atop these large deposits of Monterey Shale. That means potentially lots of money because oil is a scarce resource. As long as the price of oil remains relatively high, then the added expense of fracking for the oil underneath our beautiful rural areas becomes lucrative. Who cares about rural life styles especially when you are talking big money. You can have the nicest views and the most beautiful rural surroundings, but if your water is polluted then you dont anything. If the water makes you sick or your animals get sick then you have even less. Worthless land, but views are great. Trouble with polluted water, is that is does not respect county lines. If voters in San Benito County decide that they WANT fracking and Big Oil promises to control the chemicals they use in fracking but they cant and the water gets polluted. Then what? The polluted water is supposed to stop at the San Benito County line? Ironically, I happened upon a movie today that dealt with this particular dilemma. Aside from the the fact that the lead actor is one of my favorites, Matt Damon, it also deals with the dilemma a community faces when they have to cast a vote of this magnitude. I recommend you see this movie before you go to the ballot box. Sure it has a bias, but still the movie points out that when big money is involved, there are no limits. Promised land. focusfeatures/promised_land Please remember that whatever you decide, our fates could also be in your hands. So do the neighborly thing and take a look.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 02:18:32 +0000
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