Of course, what about all the existing gas stations in Petaluma? Because I see a whole bunch of them
Could California city Petaluma’s gas station ban start a new trend?
All eyes are on Petaluma, Calif., a city of approximately 60,000 that voted in February to ban the construction of new gas stations as part of the fight against climate change.
Petaluma City Council voted unanimously to enact the ban as the city aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, The Press Democrat reported.
“The goal here is to move away from fossil fuels, and to make it as easy as possible to do that,†council member D’Lynda Fischer said according to The Press Democrat. “Right now, we have existing fossil fuel stations, and what we want them to do is add (electric vehicle) chargers and create another source of fueling people can use.â€
Why doesn’t the city council spend their own money to do that? Will the city give up on using fossil fuels for their own fleet? When the city has a whole bunch of gas stations now, how does blocking any new ones help except as climavirtue signaling?
Many Petaluma residents got behind the ban after a Safeway supermarket with a gas station was planned near a school and residential neighborhoods, according to The Press Democrat. The gas station at Safeway can move forward despite the ban.
A group called STAND.earth supported the push to ban new gas stations as part of its SAFE Cities initiative, Axios reported.
I’m assuming those residents have given up their own fossil fueled vehicles? Oh, and Stand.earth seems to be a Canadian group, so, why don’t they mind their own business? Anyhow, since the median income in Petaluma is $41k, I’m guessing most won’t be buying electric vehicles, which tend to start in the upper $30k’s. I’d be more impressed if they attempted to ban the existing gas stations.
