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Local communities are leading the way to a clean energy future
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Ed, this is huge.
A small refinery community in Washington state just permanently banned new major fossil fuel facilities and put themselves on a trajectory to a clean energy future.
They proved that with enough determination and organizing, any community – even ones dominated by the influence of oil and coal mega-corporations – can protect themselves from fossil fuels.
Whatcom County, WA is the first local government in the U.S. to use land-use code amendments to permanently prohibit new refineries, fossil fuel transshipment facilities, new piers, and wharfs or coal facilities. The regulations also place new restrictions on existing fossil fuel companies' abilities to expand.
This is a game changer for the SAFE Cities movement – offering a blueprint for other communities across the country to end fossil fuel expansion and fast-track clean energy. But if we’re going to make sure Whatcom is just the first community of many, we need to ramp up pressure on local governments all across the country – including yours.
Send a message now to local lawmakers in Port Angeles and Clallam County demanding that they protect your community from fossil fuels and accelerate the just transition to a clean energy economy.
The costs imposed on predominantly BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and low-income communities by refineries and fossil fuel infrastructure is simply too high. For too long, whole neighborhoods, cities, and counties have had to deal with elevated rates of asthma, birth defects, cancer, and other devastating illnesses. Enough.
Even areas without major fossil fuel infrastructure are paying a price. Research shows that gas stoves cause asthma in children at the same rate as second-hand smoke [1] and living or working near gas stations can cause cancer and a myriad of other serious health issues. [2]
The SAFE Cities movement is showing that a better way forward is possible. Instead of building new oil refineries and coal export terminals, Whatcom County is expanding solar panel facilities and building electric bus assembly plants. They’re proving that you can have a clean environment and a booming economy.
Ed, make Port Angeles and Clallam county next – send a message to local lawmakers urging them to join the SAFE Cities movement and move your community away from fossil fuels.
It’s not just Whatcom County – nearly 100 SAFE policies phasing out fossil fuels and fast-tracking clean energy have already been passed in more than 75 different communities. People in towns from California to Colorado to Tennessee to Maine have had enough and are taking their homes back from the fossil fuel industry.
Because of people like you, we’re doing things that people have said are impossible. The Stand.earth community is more than half a million people strong (and growing!), and together, we're using our collective power to fight climate change, protect wild spaces, stand with impacted communities, and say no to new fossil fuels.
For a better future,
Matt Krogh
SAFE Cities Campaign Director
Stand.earth
[1] https://thelatch.com.au/gas-stove-asthma/
[2] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-it-safe-to-live-near-gas-station/
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