California is considering a bill to study the cost to taxpayers of climate-related disasters. Similar measures have already passed in New York and Vermont. (Strikernia/Adobe Stock)
The bill would direct the California Environmental Protection Agency to study how much climate change has cost the state between 1990 and 2024, and assess a one-time fee on oil and gas companies emitting more than 1 billion metric tons of emissions.
Maya Golden-Krasner, deputy director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity in Los Angeles, explained the goal of the bill.
“These are companies that make billions of dollars in profits per day,” Golden-Krasner pointed out. “This bill would take some of the burden off of taxpayers, and put it onto the people who caused the crisis.”
Right now, taxpayers end up footing much of the bill to clean up after natural disasters like mega-fires and floods, made worse by climate change. The money would go into a fund for climate-related programs, including projects to promote energy efficiency, make infrastructure more resilient, create urban green spaces and restore wetlands. The Western States Petroleum Association is among opponents of the bill, saying it will raise fuel costs for consumers and businesses.
The State Building and Construction Trades Council also opposes the bill, saying it will cost jobs.
Asm. Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, a sponsor of the bill, argued the climate projects will create jobs and a one-time fee should not affect gas prices.
“These companies lied to the public for decades,” Addis contended. “They knew that the pollution they were causing was creating climate damage, was leading to global warming. They hid that information, and it’s time for them to be part of the solution.”
The bill has already passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee in March and goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday.
[BenIndy contributor Roger Straw: As I watched this fascinating interview, I thought of my own little bit of paradise, my home, my small-town Benicia, California. Could it happen here, really? Entire towns have been destroyed by wildfire, and over 3 million US residents have migrated in recent years due to the risks and realities of extreme flooding. How many times have I had the conversation with friends and family about where we would move, if we had to leave Benicia, leave California? How many of us have already left for safer locations? Short of leaving here, is my home fire resistant? Is our city safe? How much would it cost for Benicia and PGE and you and me to avoid the fate of Lahaina, Hawaii, how much to bury all of our electrical lines below ground and clear defensible space around every home and business? How much to adequately prepare for sea level rise and storm-wrecked shores? Near the end of this interview, federal grants are mentioned. Are our city leaders planning carefully and reaching out for these grants?]
Before It’s Gone: Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America
Destroyed Communities & Climate Migrants: Climate Change Upends Small Towns
Hurricanes, storms, and wildfires are persuading Americans to abandon their homes as nature lashes out against human-made climate change. Over three million Americans have already moved due to risk of flooding, and climate experts say some 13 million coastal residents will be displaced by the end of this century. CBS News correspondent and author Jonathan Vigliotti has reported from the front lines of climate change. He explains to Hari Sreenivasan how American towns might become more resilient and why it’s crucial to listen to the science.
Originally aired on PBS on April 16, 2024
Johnathan Vigliotti, Before It’s Gone, Stories from the Front Lines of Change in Small-Town America
[Note from BenIndy: There are many lenses through which we can consider and address our climate crisis; faith is an important one. The Heritage Presbyterian Church’s “Make the World a Better Place” program is hosting a Zoom presentation on Wednesday, March 20, at 7pm, to share tools faith communities can use in these discussions. That said, it’s clear these tools can serve not just the faithful, but also “people of conscience.” To get the Zoom link, you will have to RSVP by emailing betterworldbenicia@gmail.com.]
Make the World a Better Place presents
Climate Crisis: Tools for Faith Communities and People of Faith and Conscience in the “Just Green-Transition”
Featuring: Gregory Stevens, Northern California Director, California Interfaith Power and Light (www.interfaithpower.org)
The climate has changed. Our planet is heating up. We need a new system. A system based on deep democracy, radical egalitarianism, participatory budgeting, and social justice. Faith communities across the country already embody these ways of being; so how do we make them global?
Now is the time to take action and this event will provide the tools and framework needed to make a “just green-transition” a concrete reality. A “just green transition” refers to the shift towards a more environmentally sustainable economy and society while ensuring that the process is fair and equitable for all stakeholders, especially those who may be disproportionately affected by the transition. This concept recognizes that transitioning to a green economy, which prioritizes renewable energy, resource efficiency, and sustainability, can have social and economic implications.
About Gregory Stevens: Gregory serves as the Northern California Director. As a former Baptist preacher, long time labor organizer, and interfaith community activist they bring a creative mix of skills to our team as we seek to strengthen multi-religious responses to climate change. Gregory grew up in Tampa/St. Petersburg Florida, where their love for crawling critters, furry felines, and old oak trees solidified into political and social activism for planetary healing. They have a BA in Religion and Gender Studies from the University of South Florida, a MDiv from Claremont School of Theology, and a MA in Anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. In their free time they enjoy overstuffed used bookstores, the smell and feel of giant Redwood Trees, watching documentaries about ancient cultures, and all things Unitarian Universalist.
California Interfaith Power & Light
685 14th Street, Oakland CA 94612
(510) 867-2031 | info@interfaithpower.org
Monthly educational programs on Zoom focused on social justice topics that can make a better, more peaceful and just world. The good folks at Heritage Presbyterian Church in Benicia plan and present these programs for thoughtful and caring people. Viewpoints expressed in these presentations do not necessarily reflect any position or policy of Heritage Presbyterian Church and no official endorsement should be inferred.
Heritage Presbyterian Church/ The Presbytery of the Redwoods 1400 E. 2nd St., Benicia
(707) 745-6650 | betterworldbenicia@gmail.com
Pat Plant, Better World Organizer
“The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life. – Rabindranath Tagore
[Note from BenIndy: There are many paths to a balanced budget in a small town like ours. Paths that emphasize local economic development by enhancing active transportation safety and accessibility, minimizing fossil fuel reliance, and boosting both outdoor and indoor air quality set a course for a San Luis Obispo that is cleaner, healthier, and safer…and yet still financially stable and self-sustaining. San Luis Obispo and Benicia have a lot of common: SLO is another full-service town like Benicia, with a larger population but many of the same values.]
San Luis Obispo has set big goals to reduce pollution and adapt to the climate crisis, and we’re making big progress. To highlight this work, the City is adding a new Sustainable SLO mark and illustrated graphic on a variety of public facilities and equipment in San Luis Obispo.
“The City of San Luis Obispo is leading on climate action, and we’re excited to tell our story over the next few months,” said Chris Read, the City’s sustainability manager. “Now through Earth Day 2024, we will highlight everything from our new electric buses to our recycling bins and will share resources for how community members can make changes to save money, reduce pollution in their own homes and businesses and help reach communitywide carbon neutrality by 2035.”
Community members may have already seen the new Sustainable SLO mark and illustrated graphic throughout San Luis Obispo and will likely be seeing it more often. Climate action is a major City goal for the City of San Luis Obispo and the City has been working for years from its Climate Action Plan to reduce pollution and make San Luis Obispo more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Sustainable SLO demonstrates how the City is leading by example by phasing out fossil fuels from public facilities and fleet vehicles, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from organic waste and restoring the beautiful natural ecosystems that make San Luis Obispo such a wonderful place to live. These efforts include but are not limited to:
Installing new bike lanes and using all-electric buses that make it safer and easier to get around,
Conserving open space properties throughout the greenbelt to protect natural resources,
Transitioning the City’s fleet to electric vehicles to save money and use less fossil fuels,
Installing new trash and recycling bins downtown to reduce litter and landfilled waste,
Adding more public-facing electric vehicle chargers in SLO so it’s easy to charge on the go,
Planting 10,000 new trees in streets, parks and open space areas by 2035,
Switching to energy-efficient lighting at City facilities to save money and use less energy, and
Installing a large battery at the Water Treatment Plant to save money and create a more resilient facility.
With generous federal, state and regional funding resources, incentives and technical assistance available to support climate action, it’s becoming easier for organizations and individuals to make sustainable choices in SLO. Over the next few months, the City will share more about Sustainable SLO and suggest ways organizations and individuals can take local action on the climate crisis.
“We’ll be telling this story on social media, local news channels and at in-person events,” said Lucia Pohlman, the City’s sustainability and natural resources analyst. “Everyone can find Sustainable SLO‘in the wild’ to see tangible ways we’re making a difference. Hopefully, this will inspire community members to cut climate pollution and prepare for increasingly hazardous floods and fires. It’s no easy task, but with the community’s help, we can reach our goals and ensure our community thrives into the future.”
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