Chevron scolded

Hundreds of environmental activists and community members, including the mayor, shut down city streets in Richmond in protest of proposed renovations at Chevron’s Bay Area refinery.

The demonstration last Saturday (Aug. 15) included a rally adjacent to the city’s Bay Area Rapid Transit station and an hour-long march leading to the gates of the refinery. Thirteen of the estimated 500 protesters were arrested for trespassing on the oil company’s property.

Mobilization for Climate Justice organized the protest in an effort to force Chevron to “cap the crude” at its Richmond refinery, where the company is attempting to refine a heavier crude that activists say will result in more air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions.

A judge recently put a stop to the renovation project—ordering Chevron, which is being sued by environmental groups, to cease work pending environmental review, reported the Contra Costa Times.