Last night there was a fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant and I watched the flames climb well past half way up the smoke stacks all the way from the shores in Monterey. 24 hours later smoke is still billowing into the sky.
I have driven past those smoke stacks for decades, whether it be on my way to Monterey or Laguna Seca from The Bay Area, or heading north to Santa Cruz and beyond now that I’m living in Monterey. In fact, I travel with a few miles of it every month when I drop off my rent check (yes, an actual physical check). Watching the flames I couldn’t help but feel a sense of heartache for our planet followed by sense of fear for humanity.
This is the fourth fire, but by far the biggest, to occur at these facilities in less than 4 years (two from Vistra system and one from Tesla/PG&E system). I’m no expert on modern battery technology or the backup systems we use for the power grid but you don’t have to be a genius to know that massive amounts of lithium batteries burning are not a good thing for our air and water quality. The County Supervisor called it a ‘worst-case scenario’ and made the point that if this is the renewable energy of the future, it needs to be safer.
I’ve spent my entire life watching PG&E weasel their way out of responsibilities for their incompetence. Fires that were started by their faulty equipment have destroyed my family’s history on multiple occasions. While this fire may not be their facility or due to their negligence, I can’t help but wonder if their legal tiptoeing has set a standard for other companies to follow.
It seems like America has become the land of zero accountability during my lifetime. While my first feeling is anger, it has evolved to sadness. Maybe it’s because of the recent fires in the Los Angeles area that destroyed Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and many other communities I’ve spent a good amount of time in that makes me overly sensitive in this moment. I feel like we’re forced to watch these giant corporations and the billionaires they spawn destroy our planet without any repercussions. It makes me sad for the future. It’s honestly one of the reasons I have become more uncertain about having kids.
What will be left for them if the priority is for profits rather than the protection of the planet? How much of these toxins will we be breathing in? Will there ever be real accountability?
My expectations are minuscule, and that in itself says everything about how we are forced to deal with these disasters. It sucks.