By Jessica A. Knoblauch | Earth Justice Link to article
Karina Montoya, whose mother is an agricultural worker, was among the Oxnard, California, teens who spoke out against a proposed gas plant in their hometown.
A California regulators’ latest move to reject the short-sighted proposal is a turning point in the state’s clean energy future.
This week, the city of Oxnard, California, became known for being more than just one of the strawberry capitals of the world. The coastal town, which lies between the more affluent cities of Santa Barbara and Malibu, recently closed the last chapter of a four-year-long fight to shut down a short-sighted proposal to build a hulking natural gas plant on its wide, sandy beaches. On March 22, California’s grid operator gave final approval to a clean energy alternative to the dirty energy plant, pushing the gas project off a cliff.
The victory is sweet for the community, whose predominantly low-income, immigrant residents have some of the worst asthma rates in the country. It’s also a signal to the potential for something even sweeter: an end to an era of new gas plants for all communities in the Golden State. (Link to article)
