Fossil Fuel Resistance

We stand in opposition to proposals seeking to bring more fossil fuels to or through the Bay Area by pipeline, ship or rail, and new facilities anywhere that could expand its refining or export.    We attend meetings of government agencies, particularly the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, (BAAQMD) the agency most able to implement our goals. We advocate rules to cap and reduce refinery emissions of CO2, particulate matter, toxics and other pollutants which threaten the health of our communities and the planet.

This year we will respond to the threats of crude-by-rail, coal-by-rail and the tar sands invasion by tanker or pipeline.  We take actions to prevent Canadian tar sands coming to the Bay Area, coal reaching the Port of Oakland for export, and we seek an end to the extractive process for gas and oil known as fracking.  Our past actions have included demonstrations in opposition to Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines and the banking institutions that fund them.

A lawsuit is still pending, challenging the City Council of Oakland’s decision to ban coal from coming to their port for export, and with it dangerous coal dust. Chevron is already refining tar-sand crude in Richmond.  For now, other refineries have been blocked from bringing crude-by-rail to increase their production of this cheap but highly polluting crude. Phillips 66 in Rodeo is proposing to bring 93 more tankers per year of tar sands crude, which would endanger San Francisco Bay and nearby communities, including Vallejo.  This is one of our most pressing issues this year.

Much of our work focuses on rulemaking at the Air District.  We meet regularly in Richmond to work together with a network of other groups like Communities for a Better Environment, Sierra Club and Sunflower Alliance to engage with the BAAQMD staff and organize our strategies to strengthen rules and regulations for cleaner air.  Every Air District board meeting in SF is an opportunity to speak, generally for two minutes, to encourage the Board to take the most climate protective action.

If you share these concerns and might be willing to attend, or if you would like to be involved in demonstrations or other actions with 350 Marin Fossil Fuel Resistance, we welcome your help and support.