Urge State Legislators to Reject Newsom’s Plans for More Drilling in California
Senator Limon’s phone number is (805) 965-0862.
Assemblyman Hart’s phone number is (805) 346-1237.
📞 Sample call script: Hello, my name is___ and I’m from_____. I’m calling to urge [assembly member/state senator] to protect our climate and health by saying no to more dirty oil drilling. Please reject any proposals that would exempt oil and gas drilling from environmental review or public oversight, or otherwise promote more dangerous drilling. Giving more handouts to oil companies won’t bring down gas prices. Thank you.
For Senator Limon’s email contact click here.
For Assemblyman Hart’s email contact click here.
Sample email script:
Don’t Buckle to Big Oil’s Bullying: Say No to the Drill-Baby-Drill Bill
I urge you to preserve California’s climate leadership and public health protections by opposing any proposal to expand oil and gas drilling across the state. California is literally on fire. New oil drilling, especially without environmental review and public oversight, is unjustifiable as the climate crisis intensifies and Californians suffer some of the worst air in the country, breathing in oil industry toxins.
Oil production in California has been declining for decades because of geology and economics. Oil produced here today is some of the dirtiest and most climate-damaging in the world. Fast-tracking more drilling will benefit oil companies while the rest of us pay the price through added pollution. Hard-working Californians are facing serious affordability issues but giving handouts to the oil industry won’t address them. It will allow a dying industry to do immeasurable damage on its way out the door, threatening our health, water, wildlife, and our climate. Rather than gutting environmental protections by fast-tracking oil drilling, California leaders must commit to speeding the transition to zero-emission vehicles to reduce gas demand, holding refineries accountable to prevent price spikes and gouging while keeping communities safe, and requiring faster cleanup of toxic drilling sites. Please don’t buckle to Big Oil bullying or fall for their manufactured crisis. Please reject all proposals to fast-track more oil drilling or roll back protections from oil industry pollution.
Background:
To placate Big Energy, and prevent more refinery closures, Gov. Newsom is proposing to allow thousands of new oil and gas wells to be drilled without appropriate environmental review. This is a betrayal of years of progress that has made the state safer and healthier. It’s possible that SB County would not be spared from this hands-off approach. What’s certain, though, is that Kern County, where disadvantaged communities have been bearing the brunt of California’s dirty energy extraction for years, would be hit even harder.
While Newsom might be flip-flopping, Big Energy remains consistent in their tactics. Their disinformation campaign this time involves exploiting fears of higher gas prices. The truth is more drilling won’t lead to lower gas prices, but it will lead to more harmful pollution. The only way to stop being held hostage by Big Energy is to phase out fossil fuels faster. In spite of Trump, California can and must remain in the forefront of a rapid transition to clean energy and zero-emission transportation. A cleaner, brighter future depends on it. Please share this with your California friends and family!
Make Polluters Pay Bill is Progressing! – You Can Help Now
One way to put a little wind turbine energy behind the bill is to show CA legislators that communities are for it by having boards of supervisors and city councils pass resolutions. So far, 10 cities have passed resolutions in support of the bill, including the four largest in the state. Now it’s our turn. Please reach out to your Santa Barbara City Council member, and let them know you are in favor of Polluters Pay.
To find your council member, please click here
FACTS & TALKING POINTS
The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (AB 1243, SB 684) will be voted on in the State Legislature in the 2026 session, but environmentalists across the state are working hard NOW to prepare the ground for passage. This bill is modeled on the EPA’s Superfund bill, and, like that legislation, asks large companies that have soiled the environment (and made extraordinary profits doing so) to clean up their messes by paying into a fund to offset the damage they’ve done.
In 2024, Exxon made a net profit of 33.7 billion; meanwhile, the LA Fires are projected to cost between 250-275 billion. And that, of course, is just the latest example of a climate-related catastrophe. Between 1980 and 2024 there were 46 weather/climate disaster events in California that cost more than a billion dollars. Taxpayers, in one form or another, have been holding the bag for years.
The Facts:
Burning coal, oil, and gas accounts for 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions and 75% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Just 90 of the world’s largest fossil fuel emitters are responsible for two-thirds of human-caused carbon dioxide and methane emissions.
Californians are already experiencing the climate emergency. Extreme heat, sea level rise, wildfires, drought, floods, and storms are costing lives and livelihoods across the state.
These costs are escalating. The California Natural Resources Agency’s Fourth Climate Assessment conservatively estimates that California will face at least $113 billion in annual climate change costs by 2050.
Polling from last year shows 70% of California voters support requiring fossil fuel companies to help pay for climate disaster costs through a climate superfund bill.
Talking Points:
We’ve paid enough! These are all costs for which the big polluters are responsible but Californians pay the price.
Climate scientists can now accurately link specific climate damages to the big polluters. The science allows us to identify how much damage each of the largest polluters are responsible for in California, how much those damages cost, and how much the polluters owe.
By establishing a Climate Superfund, this legislation would raise hundreds of billions of dollars to protect Californians and fund solutions to build affordable and sustainable communities.
New York and Vermont have already passed bold legislation to make fossil fuel polluters pay their share of the costs of climate damages in those states. California can too.
Look for 350SB Booth at SUN Day on Sept 21
It’s time to celebrate solar power! We invite you to join us for a Sun Day of Action in Santa Barbara — part of a nationwide celebration and day of action led by @Third Act.
This festival-style event celebrates clean energy progress in our community and offers practical ways to accelerate the transition to a fossil-free future.
Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 21, from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m. and join us at the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Michael Towbes Library Plaza (40 East Anapamu Street) to:
✨ Hear from inspiring speakers and talk with elected officials
🌱 Enjoy family-friendly activities
🔌 Learn about home & business electrification resources
🤝 Engage with community booths
We Endorse a “Yes” Vote on Proposition 50
Although Democrats at the federal level are having a hard time mounting a resistance to the Trump Administration, at the state level, there are glimmers of hope. As the most populous state in the union, and the one with the largest GDP, California and its leadership is uniquely positioned to have an outsized influence. So, while those of us on the 350 Santa Barbara steering committee would, in theory, prefer to not temporarily suspend California’s independent commission on re-districting, we applaud Governor Newsom’s attempt to fight fire with fire by placing Proposition 50 on the ballot.
Prop 50 is a direct response to the Texas legislature’s re-drawing of their congressional map at Trump’s request so as to assure him several more Republican congressman after the 2026 election. Unlike Texas voter, however, California voters will have a chance to weigh in on re-drawing the map through their vote on November 4th. A YES vote would give the Democratic majority in the California Legislature the opportunity to draw maps that are favorable to Democratic candidates until a new census in conducted in 2030 when the independent commission would again take over.
Republicans aren’t happy. Tens of millions of dollars are being spent to fight Prop 50, and outright lies are being printed on the flyers being sent out at a dizzying pace. One of those lies was that the League of Women Voters was endorsing a NO vote on the proposition. To find out more about that scam, click here. And, if you’re wondering how the opposition to Prop 50 is being funded, one way is by spending at least 10 million dollars given by Charlie Munger Jr., the billionaire’s son, who was once the chair of the Santa Clara County Republican Party.
~350 Steering Committee