Molly Samuel, Science Reporter, KQED FM
Jess Dervin-Ackerman, Conservation Organizer, Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter

In the next two years, the number of rail cars carrying oil into the Bay Area is forecast to increase 20-fold to 200,000. Though it’s known as one of the most environmentally friendly places in the country, the Bay Area is also among the top exporters of fossil fuels. Five refineries in the East Bay process heavy crude oil. Now they might be planning to import Canadian tar sands oil, which critics charge produces more greenhouse gas emissions than conventionally produced oil due to the energy required for extraction and processing. Demand from developing countries is high, and East Bay oil exports are a huge business.