Gov. Newsom, Kern County deserves a real ‘just transition’

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of crickets. That’s all we’ve heard from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office about his planned “just transition” — helping Kern County survive his announced intent to phase out oil production.

In March, Newsom announced ending oil production and thousands of its jobs in Kern County would be managed by a “just transition” to new jobs comparable in number, pay and opportunity to oil field employment.

During a visit to Kern in July 2019, Newsom spoke of the need to carry out a thoughtful transition away from petroleum production that will respect the communities where oil is produced. He earmarked $1.5 million that year to study how to decline petroleum production “in a way that is economically responsible and sustainable.”

In addition to thousands of Kern families being supported by oil field jobs, oil companies pay millions of dollars in local property taxes that support government services for residents of Kern, one of California’s poorest counties.

The findings of that study were supposed to be released this July. Instead, we got the deafening sound of crickets.

When asked about it, the governor’s office said in August that the report was up for “final review.” But more than two months later, we still only hear crickets.

Seriously, we understand that Newsom may be too bothered to consider the hardship his policies will inflict on Kern. It takes a lot of time to burnish his environmental credentials with such moves as imposing a de-facto ban on fracking; restricting well drilling; signing an executive order in September requiring by 2035 all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles; and most recently, proposing a 3,200-foot buffer zone between new oil and gas wells and “sensitive locations.”

So far, all we are getting from Newsom are vague plans to transition oil field workers from producing oil and gas to capping wells, and clearing and closing fields.

As one oil industry representative asked, “Where is the money to pay workers for putting a business out of business?”

Good question. Where will this money come from? And note, this is not a long-term “just transition” to new jobs with real futures. It’s a Band-Aid to temporarily prevent the collapse of Kern’s economy and the financial ruin of families.

Kern is blessed with a variety of alternative energies, including wind and solar. And despite opposition from some environmental activists, plans to develop biodiesel fuels and plants to sequester — inject underground — polluting emissions also are being considered.

All this falls short of replacing jobs

eliminated in one of Kern’s major industries by policy and regulatory fiat in an “economically responsible and sustainable” way.

A serious effort backed and financially supported by state and federal agencies and elected officials is needed to diversify Kern’s economy and replace high-paying oil field jobs.

To put it into perspective, Kern produces about 70 percent of California’s oil and more than 90 percent of its natural gas. Until recent years, California ranked third in the top oil-producing states. It is now sixth, falling behind Texas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Alaska.

The recovery of shale oil in those five states, and regulations and field conditions restricting oil production in California, are responsible for the state slipping to sixth place.

For way more than a century, Kern workers have braved long hours, hardships and sometimes death to squeeze oil from the earth to fuel California’s economy and build a Golden State future for its people.

A “just transition” for those contributions and sacrifices is to return the favor.

“All (Newsom’s) energy production objectives run through Kern County, with our residents and their families paying the heaviest price,” notes Ryan Alsop, Kern’s chief administrative officer.

Kern deserves more than the sound of crickets from the governor.