Tuesday, January 28, 2025

California Bill, Ad Campaign Aim to Hold Big Oil Accountable for LA Wildfires

"Major fossil fuel companies intentionally misled the public for decades about the impacts of their products, and now Californians are paying the price," according to the office of California state Sen. Scott Wiener.



A person uses a garden hose in an effort to save a neighboring home from catching fire during the Eaton Fire on January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California.
(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Eloise Goldsmith
Jan 28, 2025
COMMON DREAMS


In California, recently introduced legislation and a new six-figure ad campaign called "Make Polluters Pay" indicate that the drum beat to hold oil and gas companies directly accountable for their role in fueling climate disasters, like the Los Angeles wildfires, is growing.

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-11) on Monday introduced legislation that would allow homeowners, businesses, and insurance companies to recoup losses incurred by a climate disaster by seeking damages from fossil fuel companies.

The bill would also permit California's FAIR Plan, the state-created insurer of last resort for fire coverage, to do the same so it doesn’t become insolvent.

"Major fossil fuel companies intentionally misled the public for decades about the impacts of their products, and now Californians are paying the price with devastating wildfires, mudslides, sea level rise, and skyrocketing insurance costs," according to a statement from Wiener's office.

Wiener himself said that "containing these costs is critical to our recovery and to the future of our state. By forcing the fossil fuel companies driving the climate crisis to pay their fair share, we can help stabilize our insurance market and make the victims of climate disasters whole."

Wildfires engulfed the Los Angeles region earlier this month, burning tens of thousands of acres of land and destroying more then 16,000 structures, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Damage estimates indicate the wildfires could be the costliest wildfire disaster in U.S. history.

The fires have also strained insurers, and led to increased rents in the area. Washington Postreporting found that rents in Los Angeles County rose above the legally permitted 10% after the wildfires.

Meanwhile, the communications firm Fossil Free Media launched a six-figure campaign, Make Polluters Pay, on Friday. The campaign is aimed at supporting "the growing demand that Big Oil companies pay their fair share for the Los Angeles wildfires and other climate disasters that are costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year."

The campaign includes ads on Facebook and Instagram, as well as other digital platforms, which will highlight the plight of people like the Howes family, who lost their home to a California wildfire.

According to a statement from Fossil Free Media, over 4,000 people have signed on to a petition sponsored by the organization urging California lawmakers to pass a "climate superfund bill," which would compel polluters to pay into a fund that would help prevent disasters and aid cleanup efforts.

California lawmakers introduced, but did not pass, a bill like this—the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act—in the last legislative session. New York and Vermont recently passed similar legislation.



40K+ People Urge Trump-Led GOP to Stop Attacking Disaster Relief

"Politicizing disaster response efforts for political points at the expense of real people who are suffering after natural disasters is unacceptable."



A member of FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue Task Force searches a flood-damaged property with a search canine following Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina on October 4, 2024.
(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Brett Wilkins
Jan 27, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition calling on U.S. President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to stop attacking disaster relief, including by trying to attach politicized conditions to California wildfire aid, spreading lies about the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and threatening to shut down the vital government body.

As of Monday afternoon, more than 41,300 people had signed the petition, which was launched by the progressive political action committee MoveOn earlier this month in the wake of Trump's mounting attacks on FEMA.

"Instead of working to support those trying to survive and rebuild, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are exploiting this climate disaster to spread disinformation and sow chaos for political points."

"The tragic wildfires raging across Southern California have killed dozens of people and displaced tens of thousands from their homes," the petition states. "But instead of working to support those trying to survive and rebuild, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are exploiting this climate disaster to spread disinformation and sow chaos for political points."

Trump has threatened to withhold wildfire aid if California does not enact voter identification legislation and reform its forest and water management policies. He also said last week that "FEMA's turned out to be a disaster," and that "we're gonna recommend that FEMA go away."

"And this isn't the first time," the MoveOn petition notes. "Right-wing disinformation and attacks against disaster workers prevented people from getting the urgent help they needed in the wake of devastating natural disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Conservative-fueled conspiracies have even resulted in meteorologists receiving death threats for reporting on the weather and explaining climate science."

"Accessible and accurate information, including weather forecasts and disaster relief, can be lifesaving for those impacted," the petition stresses. "Instead of focusing on helping our communities recover from these latest natural disasters, Republicans disseminated harmful disinformation about FEMA's response and relief efforts, discouraging people from getting the help they urgently need. And they're doing it again."

MoveOn cited recent examples including Trump falsely accusing FEMA of stealing donations and diverting disaster aid to migrants, and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) unfounded allegation that Democrats are controlling the weather. Critics say such baseless claims endanger FEMA personnel and make their work harder, if not impossible.

"Threats of truckloads of militia members 'hunting FEMA' forced FEMA and U.S. Forest Service workers to pause their lifesaving recovery efforts to relocate workers out of fear for their safety," MoveOn said of agency work in North Carolina. "Survivors of natural disasters who urgently need assistance are refusing FEMA's help because of this disinformation."

"Conservative-led disinformation campaigns against our disaster relief workers and meteorologists are threatening public safety and undermining public trust in our lifesaving institutions," the petition argues. "In times of crisis, our elected officials should be working to deliver aid and recovery—not spreading conspiracy theories on social media. Politicizing disaster response efforts for political points at the expense of real people who are suffering after natural disasters is unacceptable."

Six-Figure Ad Campaign Calls on Big Oil to Pay for California Fires


After Trump visits California, new ad campaign from Fossil Free Media supports the growing call to “Make Polluters Pay” for the damage they’ve caused


Tuesday January, 28 2025
Fossil Free Media

WASHINGTON - Fossil Free Media launched a six-figure advertising campaign in California this Friday to support the growing demand that Big Oil companies pay their fair share for the Los Angeles wildfires and other climate disasters that are costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year.

The California ad campaign, Make Polluters Pay, is highlighting stories of real people who have faced irrevocable harm from the effects of extreme weather while major oil companies rake in billions and fuel climate disasters.

"These companies spent decades burying climate science, poured $30 million into killing accountability legislation last year in California, and now want taxpayers to foot the bill for $250 billion in fire damage,” said Cassidy DiPaola, the communications director for the Make Polluters Pay campaign. “That's not just unfair – it's unconscionable. California needs a climate superfund law to ensure polluters, not working families, pay for the crisis they created."

The ad campaign supports a growing call to “make polluters pay” for the Los Angeles wildfires and other climate disasters. In the last week, more than 40,000 people have signed a petition calling on California public officials to pass a “climate superfund bill” that would raise billions of dollars from Big Oil to pay for recovery and resiliency efforts in the state. A superfund bill was introduced last legislative session in California, since then similar policies have passed in New York and Vermont.

Some of the stories told in ad campaign include:The Howes, a family who lost their home to a wildfire in California
Zion, a 7-year-old boy in Los Angeles who has suffered from the effects of pollution

Wildfire smoke is 10 times more harmful to children’s respiratory health than other types of air pollution, so children living through these increasingly frequent wildfires, like Zion, can develop lifelong health problems.

While these Californians suffered, the fossil fuel industry mounted one of the largest lobbying campaigns in state history to defeat previous climate accountability legislation, with the bill appearing in 76% of Chevron and Western States Petroleum Association's lobby filings. At least 34 major oil producers joined the effort to block the measure. Now, even before any new bill has been introduced this session, these same companies have launched aggressive social media campaigns opposing climate accountability – all while Los Angeles burns.

Climate change has made California hotter and drier, making it easier for fires to start and spread. This is causing a larger area to be burned every year. The area burned by wildfires in California annually is now five times bigger than in the 1970s - nearly all of this increase is due to climate change.

California fires are growing in severity and in devastation as a result of fossil fuel pollution. People have suffered unspeakable losses. The ads call for holding these polluters accountable and making them pay for the damage they’ve caused.

The six-figure ad buy will run on streaming television, YouTube, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, as well as digital platforms.


Fossil Free Media is a nonprofit media lab that supports the movement to end fossil fuels and address the climate emergency.

'Dollar signs in their eyes': Los Angeles landlords illegally jack up rent after fires


Kalliope Sidnam, 14, her father, Chief Sidnam, brother, Flynn Sidnam, 8, and mother Melissa Sidnam, wait in a parking lot, at a Red Cross evacuation center at Hart High School as firefighters and aircraft battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, U.S. January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Joel Angel Juarez

January 25, 2025
ALTERNET

The recent wave of January wildfires in Los Angeles County that have displaced 150,000 people and counting has some landlords in the area looking to cash in on the surge in demand.

That's according to a Saturday article in the Washington Post, which reported that some landlords have been imposing double-digit rent hikes on their properties in the wake of the unprecedented fires. The Post found that rents across Los Angeles County have gone up by roughly 20%, well beyond the state-approved limit of 10% that California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) put in place for hotels, housing, gasoline and other essentials with an executive order earlier this month.

In rental properties listed in Beverly Hills, Encino, Glendora and Tarzana, the Post found that rents increased by triple-digit percentages when comparing prices before and after the wildfire outbreak. A single-family home in Sherman Oaks that rented for $5,473/month before the fire now rents for $10,890 — a 99% increase.

READ MORE: 'Lack of empathy': Laura Ingraham's brother slams her 'twisted propaganda' during LA wildfires

The state is already pursuing some property owners for alleged price gouging. California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said earlier this week that one couple trying to rent a home after they were displaced by the Eaton Fire was informed by a real estate agent that the price had gone up by 38%. Bonta's office is now prosecuting that agent, who could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted.

"These predators are looking at the disaster with dollar signs in their eyes," Bonta said.

Los Angeles County has since established a task force focused on price gouging. The Post reported that Rafael Carbajal, who heads the county's Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, has already received more than 600 complaints alleging price gouging since the fires broke out earlier this month. That's roughly 200 more complaints received than in the entire first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m being confronted with this feeling of panic, from, I would find a place no problem, to ‘Oh my God, the margins are getting thinner,’” 28-year old LA County resident Sam Delfavero told the Post.

READ MORE: 'Lies and disinformation': Critics say Trump got 'nothing right' about LA wildfires

Josh Lederer, who was displaced from his Pacific Palisades home, has moved his family four times since the fires broke out, and has had difficulty finding an affordable place to stay. Lederer told the Post that his problem is compounded by the fact that he needs to remain close to his still-standing home in order to accommodate insurance adjusters and remediation companies.

“Places that were renting out for $4 a square foot went to $8 a square foot,” Lederer said. “I saw the same listing on different websites for twice the price that it was listed for on another website last week.”

The paper discovered that one rental listed on Zillow before the fires was abruptly taken down after its rent was revised upwards of 40%. It was later re-listed by real estate firm Nest Seekers International. Post reporters got a cold response when asking the company if the property had been leased and if the new, higher price on Zillow was correct.

"Do yourself a favor and jump in the lake,” Nest Seekers International told the Post — followed by an "expletive" — before hanging up.

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