“The sky is falling,” “The sky is falling” seems to be the mantra of the folks who oppose the liquefied natural gas terminal proposed for the area of Oxnard. They seem to object at the thought of anything being built, regardless of how environmentally safe the project may be.
There will be emissions and other things that could affect the environment, that is a fact. But will the impact be of any consequence? Do these folks really think that the state would really let a project go forward that isn’t environmentally sound? We have the strictest environmental requirements in the world.
I remember the great “Cranberry Scare” of the 1960s where all the cranberries on the shelves of all supermarkets were pulled off due to a pesticide residue that was discovered on the skin of the berry. This cost Ocean Spray millions of dollars. A year later, it was discovered that a person would have to consume 7,000 cases of berries in order to reach the same pesticide strength that would have reached toxic levels in a human.
Remember the Malathion spraying in order to kill the fruit fly? There was a statewide uproar because the state of California was spraying poisons in the air that might affect humans. This went on for months until Gov. Jerry Brown’s chief of staff drank an eight-ounce glass at a press conference in Sacramento and lived!
What about the untreated emissions from thousands of jet aircraft taking off from LAX and that are only nine miles directly across from Malibu? Wouldn’t this have a greater effect on the city of Malibu than a project three miles past the county line and 13.8 miles out to sea?
What about the asbestos that are released daily into the air in the city and along the coast from brake pads from millions of automobiles that transport the public to the beaches each year?
What about the “Wetlands,” the decaying grass and plants that create the largest natural emissions of greenhouse gasses in the world?
Don’t we have something else better to do with our time and city money?
Tom Bates