WEBVTT - S6, Part 2 | Ep 1: A Busload of COVID 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:04.320 The world's second largest economy is increasingly being sealed off 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:07.720 from the rest of the world. Think back to April 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:13.600 twenty twenty, when every newscast was filled with warnings like this. 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:16.320 Health officials cautioning we haven't hit the peak. 0:00:16.680 --> 0:00:20.520 The new warnings from survivors now, Brady, thank you from 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:22.600 the virus. You don't know how. 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:22.919 It's going to be. 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:23.200 Now. 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:27.800 Imagine you're the mayor of a medium sized town in California, 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:31.560 poised to hold a city council meeting with rules about 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:35.440 masking and social distancing so everyone feels safe, and you 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:36.960 get a letter like this. 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.640 If the city council intends to move forward with another 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:43.800 reading on a gas van, I can assure you that 0:00:43.840 --> 0:00:46.479 there will be no social distancing in place, and I 0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:48.720 strongly urge this city council to kick the can down 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:51.400 the road and here to public safety measures. Please don't 0:00:51.479 --> 0:00:54.680 force my hand in busting in hundreds and hundreds of 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:58.520 pissed off people, potentially adding to this pandemic. We will 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.440 pull permits in close streets and will have a massive protest. 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:03.920 This is not the time to do this. Please tell 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.280 Mayor Harmon and the rest of the council for the 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.120 sake of people's health, that their efforts are better focused 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.559 on how to deal with this pandemic than to stir 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.919 up the emotions of people losing their jobs. Be smart 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:15.399 about this. 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:21.640 That's former mayor of San Luis Obispo, Heidi Harmon. The 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.560 letter in question was from Eric Hoffman, the leader of 0:01:24.600 --> 0:01:28.240 one of the unions representing utility workers in California and 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.720 an outspoken critic of attempts throughout the state to move 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:36.000 away from fossil gas. Hoffman did not respond to requests 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:41.800 to speak with us for this series. Harmon says, a 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:45.680 letter threatening a large crowd of people outside the council's 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:50.040 chambers who refused to mask or social distance at a 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:53.760 time when there was no vaccine for COVID and everyone 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:58.040 was feeling really panicked. All of that really scared her 0:01:58.520 --> 0:02:01.600 and the rest of the city council, and ultimately the 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:06.000 scare tactic worked. They postponed their vote on a bill 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:14.079 that would have banned gas in new buildings. San Luis 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:18.680 Obispo is a pretty little college town on California's central coast. 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.720 It's got a large agricultural community and also one of 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:26.880 the best architecture programs in the country at cal Poly University, 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:32.120 downtown Spanish mission style buildings, house craft ice cream shops, 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:35.919 hipster cafes, and farm to table restaurants. In other words, 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:38.400 it's not the sort of place where you might expect 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:43.079 this kind of drama. So what the hell prompted all this? 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:50.280 That's the story we're going to get into today. Welcome 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:54.040 back to Drilled. I'm Amy Westervelt. This is part two 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:57.440 of our three part season on the gas industry. You 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.520 don't have to listen to Part one, Plastic Pipeline to 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.800 understand what's happening in this part of the season, but 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:05.639 it's worth a listen if you haven't heard it yet. 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:09.480 We're calling Part two the new Climate Villains, because the 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.480 gas industry has really kicked into high gear with its 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:17.840 efforts to block climate policy. Today, the story of what 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:30.840 that opposition looked like in one town stay with us. 0:03:33.400 --> 0:03:36.680 Back in twenty sixteen, Heidi Harmon campaigned to be San 0:03:36.760 --> 0:03:40.960 LUs Obispo mayor on a platform that included carbon neutrality goals, 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:45.040 fossil free buildings, and electric vehicle charging stations. 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:49.240 So I ran for office as mayor with climate action 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:50.680 as one of my main priorities. 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:53.360 Some folks told Heidi she'd never win with such a 0:03:53.600 --> 0:03:57.680 radical platform, but she's not really the type to play politics. 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.600 A single mom who worked as a maid and homeschooled 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:04.120 her kids, Harmon's used to hard work and she's never 0:04:04.160 --> 0:04:07.160 been afraid to stand out from the pack. Her signature 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:09.960 of silver hair is almost always adorned with a red 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:12.800 or white flower, and her bright blue eyes are usually 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:17.040 sparkling behind a pair of large, statement, black rimmed glasses. 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:20.640 She's been who she is, saying exactly what she thinks 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.400 for decades, and that wasn't going to change for a campaign. 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:25.440 You know. 0:04:25.480 --> 0:04:28.640 I always felt like it's about the next generation, not 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:31.080 the next election, and if that means that I don't 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.240 get elected, then so be it. 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.280 But she did get elected, and as soon as she 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:39.679 took office, Harmon started to put forth exactly the sorts 0:04:39.720 --> 0:04:42.839 of policies she'd promised in her campaign. 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.240 When I had just got elected, all these people wanted 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:48.360 to meet with me. Okay, like, I don't know, I'm sure, 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:49.800 I'm just meeting with everybody on. 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:52.640 That long list of people wanting to meet with Harmon. 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:55.719 Early On was a public relations guy who worked with 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:57.280 the gas industry. 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:00.960 So I meet with this guy. I think it was 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.720 from Socau Gas, and he was trying to tell me 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:07.840 about something. He was calling I forget now green maybe 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:10.480 renewable natural gas. 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:15.839 Yeah, I mean renewable natural gas. It's a brilliant marketing 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:20.440 term that the gas industry has created. 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:24.440 This is Charlie Spatz from the Energy Policy Institute. He's 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:27.200 been digging into the gas guys for years. 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:31.880 And essentially they were referring to biomethane. So the capture 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:39.599 of methane from landfills or sewage plans, CAFOs can fined 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:42.560 agricultural feeding operations. 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.680 And sure, why not capture those emissions. But to hear 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:48.600 the industry talk, you'd think this was the cleanest energy 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:51.280 going right up there with solar or wind, and that 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:54.960 there's enough of it to replace fossil gas altogether. Here's 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:58.360 a little explainer video put out by SoCal Gas. The 0:05:58.360 --> 0:06:03.479 gas utility in Harmon's. 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:06.839 California is dedicated to improving air quality and the environment, 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:10.080 and sokel Gas is a partner in that vision by 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:14.320 supporting the development and use of renewable energy. When many 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:18.680 people think of renewable energy, they think of solar, wind 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:20.560 and hydropower. 0:06:23.279 --> 0:06:23.800 That's right. 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:28.799 Renewable natural gas or RNG is also a clean source 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:34.400 of energy. RNG is reliable, it's always available, unlike solar 0:06:34.440 --> 0:06:37.479 and wind, which are intermittent and dependent upon the weather 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:42.520 and time of day with limited storage capability. 0:06:42.839 --> 0:06:45.280 Who there's a lot going on here, and I'm not 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:51.080 just talking about the girlish giggles and cowmws. So first off, 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:54.839 RNG is not an apples to apples comparison to solar. 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:58.800 The industry presents it as not just a zero emissions option, 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.880 but actually a negative emissions option because, according to them, 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.160 you capture the methane, turn it into gas, and voila, 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:09.800 you've avoided all those methane emissions, except they've left out 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.760 the part where you transport and then burn that fuel, 0:07:12.840 --> 0:07:16.920 emitting various greenhouse gases along the way. But anyway, look 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:20.600 over here at how reliable ORANG is. In fact, the 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:24.240 intermittency and storage issues associated with renewables like solar and 0:07:24.280 --> 0:07:27.640 wind have largely been addressed in recent years, so this 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:30.440 ad is misleading on that front too. This is the 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:35.600 sort of solution that the most recent IPCC report called maladaptation. 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:39.960 It's something that's supposed to reduce emissions but actually locks 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:43.160 in fossil fuel use or causes some other type of 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:46.680 environmental problem, in this case the many water, soil, and 0:07:46.800 --> 0:07:51.400 air quality issues associated with industrial agriculture. Not that solar 0:07:51.440 --> 0:07:54.480 and wind are perfect, mind you, They're just not as 0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:57.640 unreliable and terrible as so Cal Gas would like you 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:02.440 to believe. Gas companies are into renewable natural gas because 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.760 it allows them to tell a good green story while 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:10.960 locking in gas infrastructure. But by even the most optimistic estimate, 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:16.000 RNG could only cover about sixteen percent of current gas use. 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:20.640 The rest would be supplied by the usual fossil gas 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:25.080 at any rate. Back in twenty sixteen, when Harmon first 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.440 took office as mayor of San Luis Obispo, Soco Gas 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:31.240 was pretty high on its own RNG supply. 0:08:31.880 --> 0:08:37.800 And me, not knowing any better, was I was confused 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:41.360 for multiple reasons because this immediately sounded like bloony. 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:45.640 Harmon didn't bother to sugarcoat her response to the gas 0:08:45.640 --> 0:08:47.000 industry guy, because I just. 0:08:46.960 --> 0:08:49.560 Turned to him and said, oh, I think, actually we're 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:52.840 going to be moving away from natural gas altogether and 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.559 not using it at all. And I had no idea because, 0:08:56.880 --> 0:08:59.600 like in my world. That seems obvious, you know what 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:04.559 I mean, of course we're not doing natural gasm. Oh, oh, 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:06.120 we don't need the renewable because we're not going to 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:11.880 be doing any type of it whatsoever. And his face 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:17.880 went from like public relations face to don't I can't. 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:20.440 Like the muscles in his face, you could see he 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.440 was trying to hold it together, but also had not 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:27.360 understood that this time had actually already come. I don't 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:29.719 think you know they. I think they must have been thinking, oh, 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:32.280 we're going to trick him with this renewable whatever the heck, 0:09:32.679 --> 0:09:35.560 and that I'll stop these changes from happening. 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:39.640 The gas industry really didn't seem to be expecting this 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.880 at that time. For decades, their product had been thought 0:09:42.920 --> 0:09:46.680 of as a climate solution, delivering major reductions in CO 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:49.760 two emissions. And that's true. But the problem is CO 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:54.080 two isn't the only greenhouse gas. As scientists discovered more 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:58.079 about the methane emissions associated with gas and the chemicals 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:02.800 associated with fracking, the tide began to turn. Now big 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:06.280 changes were looming, and Harmon started making good on her 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:10.520 climate action campaign promises in her first years in office. 0:10:11.240 --> 0:10:14.560 And so we had made the most ambitious carbon neutrality 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:16.640 goal of any city at the United States at that time, 0:10:16.679 --> 0:10:19.800 which was twenty thirty five, and we've happily been surpassed 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:23.280 since that time. We'd committed to community choice energy and 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:25.960 we've done a lot of things, and so we're really 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.360 looking at the landscape of what needed to happen next, 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:33.720 and decarbonization and electrification is really becoming really well understood 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:35.520 is one of the main ways to get us to 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:38.040 less fossil fuels. 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:41.600 Then, in twenty nineteen, the city of Berkeley, California, became 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:45.360 the first US city to pass what's called a gas van. 0:10:46.720 --> 0:10:49.800 Sounds scary, but what it actually means is a policy 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:54.560 that bigs energy transition into the building sector. It basically says, 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:58.600 we're not going to connect any new buildings to gas lines, 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:02.160 because once you wire a building for gas, your fuel 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:08.400 options are pretty limited to well gas, maybe hydrogen. But 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:10.600 if you wire a building for electric, you've got a 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:15.239 pretty broad portfolio of choices, including renewable sources of electricity. 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:18.720 So Harmon learned about this gas ban in Berkeley and 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.559 wanted to do the same in San Luis Obispo, which, 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:25.959 of course was also the local gas industry's nightmare coming true. 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:30.240 The band started to make its way toward approval and 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:34.240 then boom, COVID hits. In April twenty twenty, the city 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:36.680 council was set to vote on it when Harmon got 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:40.480 that letter threatening a protest slash COVID superspreader event. 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:44.679 You can imagine the overwhelm of dealing with the pandemic 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:48.559 with and not being sure what was going to happen next, 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:50.480 and then having this threatening letter. 0:11:50.679 --> 0:11:53.959 Harmon decided to press pause to avoid the public health 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:57.080 consequences of a protest. The gas band came up for 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:02.120 consideration again and the opposition was still fierce. It included 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:05.160 front groups from the gas industry who put out attack 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.600 ads like this one from a group called the Consumer 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.800 Energy Alliance, which claims to be a citizen group but 0:12:12.000 --> 0:12:17.360 is run out of HBW Resources and industry lobbying firm. 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:20.920 Have you heard about the blow the Berkeley, California City 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:25.080 Council has landed on consumer choice? The city has banned 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:29.520 natural gas in all new low rise residential buildings. That 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.680 means the new Ritchie rich of Berkeley will have to 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:36.640 use an electric stovetop to cook their meals. No natural gas, 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:40.720 water heaters, furnaces, clothes dryers, or barbecue grills. 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:46.240 Either that barbecue grills one is a stretch. Most gas 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.840 grills have their own refillable gas tank. You have to 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:54.080 be pretty serious about your barbecue grill to pipe gas 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:57.080 to it. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:01.960 exactly a common scenario. As you heard at the beginning 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:05.320 of this story, the Utility Workers Union of America, which 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:09.640 represents local utility workers in California, is a major player 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:13.960 opposing the gas ban. Since Harmon considers herself pro labor, 0:13:14.120 --> 0:13:16.040 she says, it was a weird feeling for her to 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:19.040 be at odds with the union and getting threatening letters 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:20.160 from a union boss. 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.120 So there was a lot of money spent on social 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:27.560 media and also robocalls, you know, pushing the classic line 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:31.360 that the fossil fuel industry always uses around jobs, you know, 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.160 which is one that I'm very sensitive to. You know, 0:13:34.280 --> 0:13:37.800 I brought the first Project Labor Agreement, which is a 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.240 union support policy in this county's history, to our city. 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.559 I'm a huge labor supporter. So it's a really interesting 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:47.360 tension to be in, and when you're in a leadership position, 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:50.120 wanting to support workers and also wanting to move to 0:13:50.160 --> 0:13:54.480 a fossil fuel free world, so people are sensitive to 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:55.680 that claim around jobs. 0:13:56.280 --> 0:13:59.680 The campaign to oppose the gas band relied on another 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:01.040 your talking. 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:04.880 Point, choice being taken away, and you know Americans are 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.000 very sensitive to that. So really trying to tell a 0:14:07.040 --> 0:14:10.720 story about you know, government coming in to take away 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:12.440 your choice about things. 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:17.600 Part of the opposition's strategy involved harassing Harmon directly too. 0:14:18.120 --> 0:14:21.400 She got a lot of nasty voicemails like this. 0:14:21.280 --> 0:14:28.080 One, Miss Hidi Herman, I highly encourage you to discourage 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:32.560 this ban on natural gas because it is a scourge 0:14:32.720 --> 0:14:38.320 on the whole community. You are raping the people that 0:14:38.520 --> 0:14:42.880 have the least amount of money. You are taking things 0:14:42.920 --> 0:14:43.840 away from people. 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:44.720 No matter what. 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:50.720 This is not a good thing. Reconsider your youthful on 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.240 utual goods. Thank you. 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.920 Some of the attacks against her got personal, too, taking 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:02.040 on her physical apearance down to her silver hair and 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:03.400 trademark flower pen. 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:06.200 At a city council meeting, after it was clear that 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.000 things were not going to go in their direction, the 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.120 president of the union himself said, I'm not resting to 0:15:12.240 --> 0:15:15.080 that fucking red flower. Corilla de Ville kunt and all 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.920 those other fucking bitches are voted off that fucking council. 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:24.680 Hoffman said this to a room full of utility and 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.320 union supporters following the council's vote to move forward with 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.960 its decarbonization policy. That was a few months before he 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:36.200 sent the letter threatening an intentionally unsafe protest if they 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:37.800 moved forward with a gas ban. 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:40.000 I just think of what's going on in a wider 0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:45.640 context with the fossil fuel industry, is really this toxic 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:49.600 masculinity just percolating throughout it and what is called maybe 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:52.680 petro masculinity. Right as soon as I heard that word, 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.880 I just thought, this is exactly on some level a 0:15:56.040 --> 0:16:00.920 deep thread of what's going on in general. The bullying 0:16:01.040 --> 0:16:07.160 so was largely men in the union, really threatening the 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.480 largely predominantly female city council in a way that quite frankly, 0:16:11.520 --> 0:16:15.320 you know, had there's a violence to the culture that 0:16:15.360 --> 0:16:17.920 they brought, and you can see it here in their letter, 0:16:18.600 --> 0:16:20.880 you know. And then so they could see though that 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:23.120 I was committed to this, you know, and on some 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:25.920 level I think that's one of the gifts of being 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:29.800 in this potential penultimate moment of human existence, you know, 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.280 I've got kids, So you're going to bust load in 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:37.760 hundreds of scary guys with potentially a disease and violence 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:42.640 in mind, Okay, because my kids' lives are already at stake, 0:16:43.000 --> 0:16:45.720 so bring it on. I mean, I don't want them 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:47.800 to do that, obviously, but I'm not going to let 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:52.160 that intimidate me into not doing what's right to save 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.080 my kids' lives. On some level, which is how it 0:16:54.120 --> 0:16:55.920 feels to me, and on some level is how it is. 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:04.840 Despite all this, the insults and the attack ads. On 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:08.600 July tenth, twenty twenty, Harman and the San Lusibispo City 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:12.440 Council did pass a modified version of the gas ban. 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:16.000 Rather than banning gas in new buildings altogether, it made 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:20.880 it more expensive and incentivized electrification. In twenty twenty two, 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:24.680 the city council reintroduced the idea of an all out ban. 0:17:25.560 --> 0:17:30.000 So far, they haven't voted on that proposal yet. Looking 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:32.800 back on all she endured along the way. 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:35.400 I just want to state for the record a couple things. One, 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:39.360 I was voted in the next election by landslide, and 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:43.600 quite frankly, there's really nothing more complimentary than to be 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:46.520 called a cunt because there's something stronger and more life affirming, 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:49.800 and everybody you know is about it, So thank you. 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:51.440 I guess i'd have to say. 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:56.480 San Luis Obispo is the first city in so Cal 0:17:56.600 --> 0:18:00.680 Gas Is Territory to pass a ban, but it wasn't 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:03.639 the last. Pretty soon the utility was playing whack a 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:06.639 mole with gas bands all over Southern California. By the 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.200 end of twenty twenty, there were more than fifty gas 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:14.120 bands in California alone. Now they're in Washington, New York, Massachusetts, 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:18.159 even Texas. According to Charlie's spats with the Energy Policy Institute, 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:22.480 the rapid growth and mobilization of the Electrify Everything movement, 0:18:22.840 --> 0:18:25.920 this push over the past few years to electrify buildings 0:18:25.920 --> 0:18:29.840 and transportation as part of a transition away from fossil fuels, 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:35.320 really caught the gas industry off guard at first, especially Sokel. 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.119 Gas in Southern California Gas Company or so Cal Gas, 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:41.919 which is often trying to market itself as a green 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:45.960 and climate champion, and all of a sudden that they 0:18:46.000 --> 0:18:49.960 are now the new coal and that is something they're 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:56.479 still getting used to. And I think that's a shared 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.720 experience throughout the gas utility industry that all of sudden, 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:04.960 they are public enemy number one. They're now big coal. 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:11.040 They are passing preemption legislation throughout the United States. They 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:14.360 are a climate villain. And this is a new experience 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:15.680 for many of those lobbyists. 0:19:15.720 --> 0:19:19.600 But it didn't take them long to adapt. As of 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:25.600 early twenty twenty two, nineteen states have passed preemptive laws 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:33.919 banning gas vans, Yeah, bans on bans. That aggressive strategy, 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:39.280 harm and experienced firsthand, has only intensified. Next time, I'll 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:41.880 look at how the industry has adapted to its new 0:19:42.000 --> 0:19:43.520 role as a climate villain. 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:47.919 We're trying to beat counties and localities from passing bands 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:51.280 that then force the hand of governors and state legislators 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:54.080 to pass something nationwide. 0:19:54.480 --> 0:19:55.480 So we've got two. 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:57.439 Wins on that so far, which is great news. The 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:03.639 legislation has been introduced in several other our states, including Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:04.280 and Kansas. 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:15.920 Come back for that. Drilled is an original Critical Frequency production. 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:19.840 Our producer is Jules Bradley. Our editor for this season 0:20:19.960 --> 0:20:24.880 is Jude Joffy. Block. Sound design, mixing, mastering, and original 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:28.080 music throughout this episode, including our new theme song by 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:31.400 Peter Duff. Our fact checker is wood an Yan. Our 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:35.760 First Amendment attorney is James Whitton of the First Amendment Project. 0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:39.480 Our artwork is drawn by Matt Fleming, and of course 0:20:39.520 --> 0:20:42.840 the show is reported and created by me Amy Westervelt. 0:20:43.359 --> 0:20:46.080 You can follow us on Twitter at we are Drilled 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:50.840 or me at Amy Westervelt. Big thanks to our new 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:55.560 Patreon supporters. We're now at three hundred supporters. That's so awesome. 0:20:55.800 --> 0:21:01.040 Thanks you guys, particular thanks to Quinn Emmett, David Urbander, 0:21:01.680 --> 0:21:09.400 Frank Berg, Jesse Worker, JJ Starr, Michael Constantino, Stephen Kretzman, 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:16.440 Mimi one oh one, Claire Kelly, Jesse, Greg Nison, Paul Whitefeld, 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:23.520 Abigail Rome, and Julie Getmanis. Thanks very much. We appreciate 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:26.560 the support. If you would like to support more reporting 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.119 on climate accountability, you can do that at patreon dot 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:33.600 com slash drilled, or you can sign up to have 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:37.960 bonus episodes and content delivered street to your inbox via 0:21:38.080 --> 0:21:42.040 Drilled podcast dot com. Thanks for listening and we'll see 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:42.719 you next week.