Search

LA Residents Say Fossil Fuel Industry Needs to ‘Pay Up’ for Damage From Wildfires

We are an online community created around a smart and easy to access information hub which is focused on providing proven global and local insights about sustainability

20 Jan, 2025

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

Survivors of the deadly Los Angeles wildfires are calling for lawsuits and policies to hold those most responsible for global climate disasters accountable, reported The Guardian.

Increasing evidence shows that oil and gas companies have known for decades that fossil fuels are the cause of global heating, but they have continued to market their products while spreading doubt about climate change.

“It is hard to properly express how much was lost,” said Palisades resident Danielle Havanas, whose home was destroyed by last week’s fire, as The Guardian reported. “How do you communicate the value of your deceased mom’s journal from 1981 when she was pregnant with you?”

University of California, Los Angeles, climate scientists have already concluded that the climate crisis was most likely the cause of a quarter of the dry conditions that fueled the rapid spread of the fires.

The Palisades section of Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles, California on Jan. 12, 2025. Qian Weizhong / VCG via Getty Images

“[I]t should not continuously fall in us to address the consequences of big oil’s negligence,” said Altadena neighborhood resident Sam James, whose grandfather lost his home in the Eaton fire. “They must take responsibility for the harm that they’ve caused, pay reparations to the affected communities who lost their homes and businesses, and take immediate steps to mitigate further damage.”

California and other states, along with some cities, have brought lawsuits to hold big oil accountable and force them to foot the bill for damages.

“We’re already paying for big oil’s climate destruction, not just with money, but with our lives, so that’s why we need our own climate superfund bill,” said Clara Vondrich, senior policy counsel at nonprofit Public Citizen, of a new version of legislation originally considered by California last year.

On Thursday morning, dozens of climate activists with Sunrise Movement LA protested outside a Phillips 66 oil facility, while 16 demonstrators stormed the Lubricant Terminal’s office building, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Sunrise Movement LA is demanding that oil companies “pay up” to help with wildfire relief and support the state’s clean energy transition.

“Fossil fuel CEOs are responsible for the destruction that is happening right now in Los Angeles,” said 18-year-old Simon Aron, a volunteer with Sunrise Movement and action lead for the protest, as the Los Angeles Times reported. “They are responsible for the fact that me and my neighbors had to evacuate our homes, that we still can’t drink our water.”

Police escorted some of the demonstrators out, but no arrests were made.

“The group that was inside decided to step out,” said Kidus Girma, Sunrise Movement national organizer, as reported by The Los Angeles Times. “The plan is to continue holding space and seeing if other possible occupations begin in the state.”

Sunrise Movement LA planned to keep protesting at the facility through Thursday, until their demands were met or the CEO of Phillips 66 agreed to meet with them.

According to fire experts, Southern California wildfires are becoming more destructive for multiple reasons, including increased development in high-risk areas, as well as a “feedback loop” where native plants don’t have enough time to regrow between fires, which opens the land for more flammable, fast-growing invasive vegetation to spring up.

Following the Eaton and Palisades fires, bipartisan leaders criticized city officials for problems with water pressure and lack of preparedness.

At least 25 people have died in the fires, which left 23 still missing, burned over 27,000 acres and are not yet 100 percent contained.

The post LA Residents Say Fossil Fuel Industry Needs to ‘Pay Up’ for Damage From Wildfires appeared first on EcoWatch.

Pass over the stars to rate this post. Your opinion is always welcome.
[Total: 0 Average: 0]

You may also like…

Climate Change Has Exposed Over 1,000 More Miles of Greenland’s Coastline in 20 Years: Study

Climate Change Has Exposed Over 1,000 More Miles of Greenland’s Coastline in 20 Years: Study

As our planet has experienced increased warming over the last several decades due to greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, glaciers around the world have been shrinking. An international team of scientists has found that global heating has, over the past two decades, melted enough of Greenland’s glacial ice that 1,006.6 more […]
The post Climate Change Has Exposed Over 1,000 More Miles of Greenland’s Coastline in 20 Years: Study appeared first on EcoWatch.

Coca-Cola’s Plastic Waste Polluting Oceans Projected to Reach 1.3 Billion Pounds per Year by 2030: Oceana Report

Coca-Cola’s Plastic Waste Polluting Oceans Projected to Reach 1.3 Billion Pounds per Year by 2030: Oceana Report

Coca-Cola products will be responsible for up to 1.33 billion pounds of plastic waste making its way into the planet’s oceans and waterways each year by 2030 — enough to fill the stomachs of more than 18 million blue whales, according to a new report by nonprofit Oceana. Coca-Cola’s World With Waste projects that the […]
The post Coca-Cola’s Plastic Waste Polluting Oceans Projected to Reach 1.3 Billion Pounds per Year by 2030: Oceana Report appeared first on EcoWatch.

Wide-Ranging Biodiversity Study Highlights Destructive Global Impact of Humans

Wide-Ranging Biodiversity Study Highlights Destructive Global Impact of Humans

One of the largest studies ever conducted on biodiversity loss worldwide has revealed that humans are having a severely detrimental impact on global wildlife. The number of species is declining, as well as the composition of populations. “Biological diversity is under threat. More and more plant and animal species are disappearing worldwide, and humans are […]
The post Wide-Ranging Biodiversity Study Highlights Destructive Global Impact of Humans appeared first on EcoWatch.

0 Comments