Big Oil spent $25 million lobbying 2015 -- 2016

WSPA meme courtesy of Stop Fooling California.

Big Oil has spent $25 million lobbying during 2015-16 legislative session!

by Dan Bacher

Censored News

Underneath California’s veneer as a “green leader” is a dark and oily reality — the state is the third largest petroleum producer in the nation and the oil industry is California’s largest and most powerful political lobby. 

In fact, last year’s oil industry “gusher” of lobbying expenses ensured that no environmental bill opposed by Big Oil was able to make out of the Legislature unless it was amended, as in the case of SB 350, the green energy bill. The oil lobby broke its prior spending record, spending $22 million over the past year.

Protesters urge Calif: Halt Santa Barbara offshore drilling expansion

Photo of Wednesday's rally in Goleta courtesy of the Center for Biological Diversity

Protesters urge state officials to halt Santa Barbara offshore drilling expansion 

Santa Barbara Oil Spill clean up cost soars to $92 million 

by Dan Bacher 

Censored News
As crews struggle to clean up crude oil off the beaches and wildlife along the Santa Barbara County Coast, dozens of people with an inflatable pipeline, hazmat suits, and a 20 foot tall mock oil derrick gathered at the Goleta Valley Community Center outside Santa Barbara on Wednesday, June 24, to urge the State Lands Commission to reject Venoco’s bid to expand offshore drilling. 

The proposed project would feed oil into the same decades-old and badly corroded pipeline, owned by Plains All American Pipeline, that burst on May 19, spilling more than 100,000 gallons into the coastal environment. 

In one of the biggest environmental scandals in recent California history, the very same oil industry lobbyist who is pushing for increased offshore drilling and fracking in California - and is now serving as the lobbyist for Plains All American - is the exact same lobbyist who chaired the panel that created the "marine protected areas" that are now being fouled by the Santa Barbara Oil Spill. 

Big Oil Brown greenwashes his legacy at U.N. Climate Summit

Photo of Jerry Brown courtesy of Damien Luzzo.

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Big Oil Brown greenwashes his legacy at U.N. Climate Summit 

by Dan Bacher 

Jerry Brown, one of the worst governors for fish, water and the environment in California history, spoke to world leaders at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York City on September 23 in a cynical attempt to greenwash his deplorable environmental record. 

During his U.N. address, Governor Brown touted California’s controversial carbon trading policies as an example of "innovative climate strategies." 

“The California story is a very hopeful one,” Brown gushed. “It’s a story of Republican and Democratic governors pioneering innovative climate strategies. It’s not been easy, it’s not without contest, but we’re making real progress." 

“I believe that from the bottom up, we can make real impact and we need to join together,” added Governor Brown. “We’re signing MOUs with Quebec and British Columbia, with Mexico, with states in China and wherever we can find partners, because we know we have to do it all.” 

Dan Bacher's Photo Essay Native Americans protest at California Capitol

Dec. 13 Bay Delta Conservation Plan Protest Photo Essay 

by Dan Bacher 

Censored News

 "Turn the pages and you’ll discover what William Burroughs meant when he observed that, 'a paranoid schizophrenic is simply someone who’s discovered what’s going on,'" quipped Bill Jennings, Executive Director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance and board member of the California Water Impact Network (C-WIN). 

No Dam Raise, No Tunnels. Photo by Dan Bacher

Over 400 people organized by Californians for a Fair Water Policy, a statewide coalition opposing Gov. Brown’s massive water export tunnels, on Friday attended a rally at the State Capitol protesting the Bay Delta Conservation Plan as the 120 day comment period for the BDCP and environmental documents began.