Op-Ed: An Urgent Call to Action on Two Key Climate Measures in SB County, Sacto
At a time when Trump is trying to demolish climate change policy, the Board of Supervisors and Legislature have the chance to push back
By Mary Byrd 350 Santa Barbara
We have seen devastating climate-related events in Santa Barbara County - from wildfires to debris flows - and the recent, deadly, wind-driven ember fires in Los Angeles were terrifying.
We know that climate effects are inevitable, and will get worse. We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow this down, and we have to deal with the costs of climate catastrophes.
Two critical legislative efforts, underway right now, could be game changers.
On May 13, this Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is set to vote on whether to phase out oil and gas operations in the county, folloing state legislation that took effect earlier this year giving counties the power to pass an oil and gas ban. Phasing out oil and gas would reduce air pollution, protecting public health, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.
Over the next few weeks, the California "Polluters Pay" Climate Superfund Bill (SB684 and AB1243) will be before the Judiciary Committees in both the state Assembly and Senate. Both are urgency measures, which have until mid-June to pass committees.
So the next few weeks are critical for public action and comment.
What “Polluters Pay” is. The bills pending in the Legislature would require the state to quantify the costs of climate damages in California.
They call for establishing a fund, financed by fossil fuel polluters, to cover their fair share of those costs. Funds would be used, variously, to respond to climate catastrophes; build climate-resilient neighborhoods and sustainable infrastructure; help workers suffering from climate-related health harms; and support the transition away from fossil fuels.
At least ten other states are considering similar legislation this year, and Vermont and New York passed climate superfund bills in 2024.
Establishing the connection between fossil fuel operations and the damage caused by climate events admittedly is complicated. A study published just a few weeks ago in the journal Nature, however, set forth a new framework to link activities of a company profiting from fossil fuels to specific damage to states and communities.
This framework makes it possible to assess responsibility for climate effects in a way that’s similar to holding tobacco companies responsible for lung cancer cases and holding pharmaceutical companies responsible for opiate addiction.
We have a few weeks to get this state bill passed. We have only a few days to start phasing out oil and gas operations in our County.
As for the county measure, a new team of experts at UCSB details the negative economic, environmental and public health impacts of continued oil operations locally, You can read the report here.
Our work is cut out for us. Please join the campaign by:
Emailing members of the Board of Supervisors TODAY by 5 p.m. about Agenda Item #8: Please vote to phase out oil and gas, at: sbcob@countyofsb.org.
Spreading the word about the mass rally planned for May 27 in
Sacramento on behalf of the superfund bill. More information here. Contact state Senator Monique Limon and Assembly member Gregg Hart and urge them to
contact their colleagues on the Judiciary Committees to pass the bill.
Mary Byrd is a member of 350SB, which works for “the just transition from fossil fuel production to renewable energy in the county of Santa Barbara.” Reach them here.
Image: The Hughes wildfire burnin in L.A. County in January. (news.com.au).
Marxist. That’s the word that describes these statewide bans on oil. Marxist because oil is essential to our life styles of affluence and just survival all require oil. And dividing people from oil is the Marxist creed. Divide people on issues they cannot live without. First it was divide labor from capital, and destroy the rich. Then divide commoners from royalty and murder the royalty. Now it’s divide the people on every front imaginable, gay, straight, trans, white, Mexican, immigrant, illegal.. pro oil anti oil.
It’s the same old Marxist playbook updated with new divisions to foster and foist upon the masses. When oil is gone from CA we will be poorer, but still even today CA gov is importing oil from all over the world. A complete fraud exposed, as CA Marxists claim to be saving the earth while shipping in foreign oil. Does it get any stupider?
Why yes, first the left loves Tesla, even though electricity to charge CA Teslas is produced from burning oil and gas in Nevada power plants, but now the Marxist liberals are burning Teslas .. because its owner is uncovering hundreds of billions in leftist fraud with government the people’s money. I could go on. So once the Marxist liberals destroy CA economy only government workers and government approved businesses will be allowed to exist. Marx is the opposite of freedom, opposite of the American spirit of building a family, a business, building a nation.