“In Carbon Evolution: The county argues about oil development in Cat Canyon” (March 21), ERG’s spokesperson Nathan Eady is quoted as saying that California’s Air Resources Board (CARB), showed that Cat Canyon had an average carbon intensity of 4.08 in 2017. These statistics were presented at the March 13 Santa Barbara County Planning Commission hearing on ERG’s proposal to expand drilling in Cat Canyon.
However, according to the most recent data available, CARB gives Cat Canyon a carbon intensity, or greenhouse gas emissions quotient, of 7.83 g/MJ (grams per megajoule). This is almost double what was stated at the hearing, where the out-of-date figure of 4.08 (from 2017) was presented.
It was recently reported that the five largest oil and gas companies in the U.S. spend nearly $200 million a year lobbying to delay, control, or block policies to tackle climate change. Chevron, BP, and ExxonMobil were at the head of that list, the report said.
As Mark Twain famously said, “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” I hope my trust in our Planning Commission to know the difference is not ill-founded.
This article appears in Mar 28 – Apr 4, 2019.
