“Make Polluters Pay!” : Student environmentalists walk out of class

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— Students gathered outside the County Administration building to call on state lawmakers to pass the "Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act."
 
County Supervisor Joan Hartman passionately stated “Let's make the oil industry pay for what they've done.”

If passed, the legislation would hold large fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change damages by making them pay fees.

“We're fighting for accountability. We all learned when we grew up, If you make a mess, you're responsible for cleaning it up. We want to hold polluters to that same standard,” said Brooke Balthaser from “Climate First Replacing Oil and Gas.”

The money would be used to address climate impacts such as wildfires and extreme weather.

“Ventura County and really the Central Coast are the fastest warming regions in the lower 48 United States. So we face a disproportionate burden of climate impacts. We feel the effects way more frequently and more severely,” said Balthaser.

“With the debris flow and the Thomas Fire we felt the disasters here, firsthand. And that cost, I believe, $3 billion. And that's not cheap. We shouldn't have to pay,” said high school student activist Ethan Maday.

The funds could also go to schools, safe infrastructure, and clean energy jobs.

“ The type of energy that we've been relying on for the last 200 years, which is oil and gas is definitely outdated. And the type of energy sources that we're relying on for the future, like solar and wind, that is the future. Something like five times more people are employed by solar and wind industry alone compared to oil, gas and coal. So people who want to have job creation need to be helping to push this transition to renewable energy forward,” said Clean Coalition Executive Director Craig Lewis.

The Climate Superfund could raise over $150 billion dollars from the biggest polluters in the state.