Document text
Guest Opinion: Don’t let the oil industry change your laws to protect themselves Friday Aug 14, 2015 at 12:01 AM Doug Moore and Loni J. Cortez Russell Clean air is essential to the Oregon way of life. So is a transportation package that guarantees reliable roads and access to transit. Oregonians should not have to choose between the two, but this past legislative session, they were pitted against one another. Why did that happen? Two words: big oil. The oil industry has spent over $2 million in lobbying and campaign expenditures in Oregon to delay, weaken and repeal the Clean Fuels Program. They pitted two good laws against each other in a “my way or no highway” scheme. Their short-lived attempt to repeal clean fuels was nothing short of big oil trying to rewrite Oregon’s clean air law. They even inserted language directly from two oil industry-funded ballot measures into the now-failed “replacement” package. Of course, out-of-state oil interests aren’t done with us — not by a long shot. Based on what we’ve seen already, here’s what they have planned next: 1) Fuzzy math proposals with inflated numbers and a free pass for big oil: The proposed transportation package relied on double counting emissions reductions in some places and robbing from other renewable energy and energy efficiency programs in others — all with only half of the pollution reduction we need: Oregonians were asked to accept a 5 percent carbon pollution reduction, only half of what Clean Fuels guarantees. Further, while the Clean Fuels Program guarantees out-of-state oil companies pay for their own pollution, the proposed alternative had no accountability built in. This would have allowed the oil industry to potentially import even dirtier, tar-sands oil into Oregon. 2) A free ride for big oil versus a toll road for taxpayers: The Clean Fuels Program is market based, with almost no impact on the state budget or consumers. What the oil industry wanted? A taxpayer funded set of subsidies and incentives that would put the financial burden on utility ratepayers, the state, and even schools. Clean air is a human right, an Oregon value, and a nonpartisan issue at that. Just look at the 2013 Oregon Values and Belief Survey: 74 percent of Oregonians believe protection of air and water quality is important (44 percent very important). We support clean air. We also support good transportation. Earlier this year, transportation stakeholders from the Truckers Association to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance agreed on a transportation package. So why did some legislators decide to pit these two programs against each other, crippling our ability to pass a comprehensive transportation package? The fact is this: Transportation is a major source of pollution in our state, and cleaner fuels means cleaner air. Reducing air pollution is vital for the most vulnerable members of our community: children, the elderly, those with existing health conditions and low-income communities disproportionately affected by air pollution. The Clean Fuels Program will address a major source of both climate and air pollution: the exhaust from buses, trucks and cars. The program will reduce climate-changing pollution from transportation fuels by 10 percent over 10 years starting in 2016. It also removes other hazardous pollutants from the air, including cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene. A transportation package is also critical to provide Oregonians with affordable, accessible, and safe transportation choices. Through such a package, we can create safer communities and ensure that all Oregonians have access to the resources they need to thrive. Pitting the Clean Fuels Program against a transportation package is but one example of how big oil will stop at nothing to protect its interests. There is no reason why we can’t have clean air and a sound transportation package. By working together to fight for what’s right for Oregon, we can bypass partisan pettiness and ensure bipartisan benefits — for all. Doug Moore is the executive director of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters. Loni J. Cortez Russell is clean air and healthy communities advocate for Moms Clean Air Force.