The Porter Ranch Gas Leak: Blame Gov. Jerry Brown? (1 Viewer)

[Rove!]

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/_20160123

While the leak was first discovered in late October, it took Brown two full months to declare a state of emergency. This, after UC Davis scientist Stephen Conley in early November determined that 100,000 pounds of methane was leaking per hour at the site, or 1,200 tons per day.

At this rate, in just one month, the leak will have accounted for one-quarter of the total estimated methane emissions in the state of California. So it is no surprise that residents here feel sick, writes Erin Brockovich, who has called the Porter Ranch leak the BP oil spill on land. While I can escape to my home to recover from my symptoms, this community wakes up to conditions that cause vomiting, nosebleeds and serious respiratory issues daily. And no one really knows the potential long-term side effects of benzene and radon, the carcinogens that are commonly found in natural gas. This dangerous environment is why the Los Angeles Unified School District unanimously voted last week to close two Porter Ranch schools and relocate their nearly 1,900 students and staff to protect their safety.

Browns sister, Kathleen Brown, also enjoys quite a few intimate connections to California gas producers. She sits on the board of Sempra Energy, the company that owns SoCalGas, and is richly compensated for her role$267,865 in 2013 and $188,380 in 2014. Additionally, Kathleen Brown is a partner at Manatt Phelps, a law firm that often represents the fracking industry. Jerry and Kathleen are close. She was a delegate to Browns 2014 trade and investment mission to Mexico and Gov. Brown recently appointed her husband Van Gordon Sauter to the Calif

 

[Das Boot]

Browns sister, Kathleen Brown, also enjoys quite a few intimate connections to California gas producers.

Sounds kinky...

 

[cstu]

Sealed.

 

[Chadstroma]

I have not followed either very closely but in broad strokes at least- it seems the Flint and Porter Ranch issues are very similar in many ways but the media coverage and finger pointing are very different. I wonder for those that know the details better than I on your thoughts about that.

 

[msommer]

I have not followed either very closely but in broad strokes at least- it seems the Flint and Porter Ranch issues are very similar in many ways but the media coverage and finger pointing are very different. I wonder for those that know the details better than I on your thoughts about that.

Similar in lives irreparably damaged?

Or only similar in public reps ####### things up?

 

[timschochet]

Yes. The main difference is that in Porter Ranch the authorities didn't wait a year; they acted almost immediately. I believe that the fact that Porter Ranch being a wealthy white community has something to do with this. 

The other major difference is that the problem with Porter Ranch did not develop because of Republicans trying to cut spending costs without considering the consequences. 

 

[Aerial Assault]

I have not followed either very closely but in broad strokes at least- it seems the Flint and Porter Ranch issues are very similar in many ways but the media coverage and finger pointing are very different. I wonder for those that know the details better than I on your thoughts about that.

There are some key differences.  The Porter Ranch situation did not result from a deliberate effort to save money by underserving poorer communities in providing a necessity, nor was the decision made by a group of governmental receivers whose motives were always suspect.   

 

[Chadstroma]

Similar in lives irreparably damaged?

Or only similar in public reps ####### things up?

Both I would say. Government in both cases blatantly failed and that failure has caused widespread health issues.

 

[Chadstroma]

Yes. The main difference is that in Porter Ranch the authorities didn't wait a year; they acted almost immediately. I believe that the fact that Porter Ranch being a wealthy white community has something to do with this. 

The other major difference is that the problem with Porter Ranch did not develop because of Republicans trying to cut spending costs without considering the consequences. 

Admittedly I spent more time on the Porter Ranch issue than Flint since Porter Ranch is next to my home town and I spent a lot of time there, know people there, etc.

So, I have read a couple of articles regarding it and even that minimal amount of time spent on it shows some massive government failure in many ways. Porter Ranch was not a surprise at all.

 

[Chadstroma]

There are some key differences.  The Porter Ranch situation did not result from a deliberate effort to save money by underserving poorer communities in providing a necessity, nor was the decision made by a group of governmental receivers whose motives were always suspect.   

Put would there not be key commonality in a regulatory system that last inspected the pipes in Porter Ranch in the 70's? It is very clear that though SoCal Gas is the culprit here that California regulatory system massively failed.

 

[Aerial Assault]

Put would there not be key commonality in a regulatory system that last inspected the pipes in Porter Ranch in the 70's? It is very clear that though SoCal Gas is the culprit here that California regulatory system massively failed.

In Flint there really is no corporate culprit.  So the key difference between the two situations is that in one, lax enforcement of government regulations let a corporation commit negligence that resulted in a serious threat to people's health, a scenario that happens every day in various sectors of our underfunded "small government" due to closed-minded and quite archaic views about the importance of government in reining in corporate abuses.  In the other situation, however, the state government committed the wrongdoing directly, and didn't really even bother to hide what it was doing or why.  Even in this day and age, that's pretty rare, possibly even unique.      

 

[Plorfu]

Would someone just validate Chad and tell him it's because of the Liberal Media and move on?

 

[Chadstroma]

In Flint there really is no corporate culprit.  So the key difference between the two situations is that in one, lax enforcement of government regulations let a corporation commit negligence that resulted in a serious threat to people's health, a scenario that happens every day in various sectors of our underfunded "small government" due to closed-minded and quite archaic views about the importance of government in reining in corporate abuses.  In the other situation, however, the state government committed the wrongdoing directly, and didn't really even bother to hide what it was doing or why.  Even in this day and age, that's pretty rare, possibly even unique.      

Fair enough (mostly). Though I am not sure California falls into the underfunded "small government" as to explain that away. There are very few states blue'r than California and with smaller government than California.

I am conservative but I am not a libertarian. I do believe that some regulations are needed and desirable. Essentially, my view is that the free market is best suited to correct all problems given enough time. The problem is that some problems are not allowable to give the free market time to correct it (such as the health of water or air) and thus the need for regulations to prevent such situations. I also believe that the answer for regulations and the regulatory oversight is that they are best used when laser focused on the highest priorities. More and more regulation tends to muddy the waters and creates a bloated bureaucracy that is wasteful, inefficient and ineffective. It tends to create a burden on those involved and more problems than solving and then allows for lead in water, natural gas in the air or a dam spewing toxic waste into a river.  Though this is an aside- I think the call for more regulation in times like this actually just ensures further problems down the way rather than looking at what happened, learning from it, overhauling the regulations and regulatory bodies and moving forward.

I do understand the political partisan reasons to react one way or the other in either event. It just really fascinates me how people take these type of events and how they then are able to point the finger at the 'other' guy or the 'villain'. In this obviously both Republicans/Democrats, conservatives/liberals, etc do the same thing all the time. I came into the thread because of the title (blaming Gov. Brown) largely because of that fascination.

 

[Pigskin Fanatic]

To add to all of this (great points so far btw), the gas company also didn't sit on this. They failed, but they made attempts to address this as soon as they knew. It was at the time they realized their initial methods to fix the issue rather than closing it off was futile that it hit the newswire with the lawyers landing to try and file a class action. Definitely not the same as Flint in that sense as well.