In California, they’re saving the world.
If you’re traveling near Napa, California and happen to cruise through the town of Petaluma, don’t look for the new gas station — there won’t be one.
Ever.
And that isn’t just a guess.
As it turns out, the city’s unanimously approved a measure banning the construction of any new filling stations.
Petaluma’s 2030 goal: “carbon neutrality.”
The 60,000-resident coastal community’s city council made the decision Monday night.
Hence, near-dripping drivers desperately looking for a clean place to unclog will have to make do without the prospect of any brand-new-service-station restrooms.
No matter — via a statement, councilwoman D’Lynda Fischer told San Francisco’s KTVU the town’s got everything it needs:
“We have adequate existing fossil fuel infrastructure to serve the needs of our residents. This ordinance will prohibit the proliferation of large fueling stations typically associated with a national retail chain. And it takes us one step closer to carbon neutrality by 2030.”
Per the outlet, don’t expect those rush-hour car lines to decrease:
The new ordinance also prohibits the addition of new pumps at currently-existing gas stations. And it seeks to make it easier for stations to add electric vehicle chargers as well as other potential alternative fuel sources at their sites.
It’s not the first environmental pounce for Petaluma — in January, the council adopted its Climate Emergency Framework.
The program outlines future policy and planning toward the 2030 deadline.
As noted by Fox2, the city’s besting the state of California, which set its carbon-free sights on 2045.
As for a gating of gas station expansion, expect others to follow:
Petaluma’s ban also comes amid a wider movement in the North Bay to crack down on new fossil fuel infrastructure. The Coalition Opposing New Gas Stations (CONG) has been working to stop the construction of new gas stations in Sonoma County, its nine cities and beyond.
The grassroots group said that since its emergence two years ago, it has successfully blocked the construction of three proposed filling stations. It’s currently fighting a proposal to build a Costco gas station in Novato.
The action by Petaluma’s city council may set the path for other municipalities to follow suit, especially in California, as more and more cities adopt policies and measures to encourage motorists to move away from fossil fuel dependency.
In California, conservation is king — call ’em King Cong.
And the West Coast appears to be going ape over electric:
In fact, a new study named nearby Santa Rosa among the top 10 best cities nationwide for electric vehicle owners, based on factors including charging infrastructure, as well as tax incentives and electricity costs.
The survey by the group LawnStarter found 21 of the 25 best cities for electric cars were in California.
Apropos, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a “zero-emission” executive order in September requiring that, “by 2035, all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles.”
LawnStarter’s psyched:
“The Golden State is laps ahead of the rest of the country in the electric vehicle race,” the group said, with researchers pointing to statewide initiatives including Governor Gavin Newsom’s mandate last year…
Consider “California” another word for Shangri-la.
Back to Petaluma, the city spans 14.5-square-miles.
So you see this place?
No flat map of our round world can be perfect. Distortions in distance, scale and size arise when we flay out the whole planet on a single page or screen.
This new map, double-sided like a vinyl record, aims to minimize those distortions. https://t.co/J6mZLd5JQ3 pic.twitter.com/YhXN3DvHqn
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 26, 2021
If you zoom and zoom and zoom and zoom…and take a nap while the zooming continues…and then awake to more zooming, go make a sandwich as it zooms, and come back…
They’ve got this red thumb tack tuned to utopia:
The red thumb tack of revolution…
"Gas Lite-ing: California Makes History With the First City to Ban Any Future Gas Stations"https://t.co/dePigVKvEN pic.twitter.com/9ct5IrEQ8J
— Alex Parker (@alexparker1984) March 4, 2021
Next up: all the other thumb tacks.
Square mileage of the earth: roughly 197 million.
California, here we come.
-ALEX
See more pieces from me:
Never Thought We’d See the Day: A Southern State Legalizes Marijuana
University Teaches Pulverized Pupils to Rumble With Racism – by Taking Naps
Find all my RedState work here.
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