Environmental Policy

The petroleum company is under investigation for misleading the public while exacerbating the global plastic pollution crisis.

The American Lung Association (ALA) just released its annual State of the Air Report and San Bernardino and Riverside counties ranked first and second for the worst ozone pollution in the country. Despite challenges, a "glimmer of hope" remains for some residents.

On Wednesday, the Santa Ana City Council approved a General Plan Update that addresses lead contamination and other land use issues that disproportionately affect marginalized communities. A law called SB1000 has been key in helping community advocates lobby city officials to incorporate environmental justice into land use planning in order to reduce health risks.

If enacted this summer, California’s mandate — the first in the world — would increase sales of electric or other zero-emission cars to 35% in 2026, and prohibit new gasoline or diesel cars by 2035.

Warehouse moratoriums have come up for vote at numerous city council meetings across the Inland Empire, the region with the worst air pollution in the country. Advocates argue for temporary pauses in development to analyze health impacts of facilities and implement regulations.

In a repeat of last year’s criticism, legislators were told there’s “a very real risk” the cap-and-trade program won’t meet California’s greenhouse gas goals. The state air board is revising the program.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a leading environmental lawmaker, has a bill to create a state fund to support and retrain oil industry workers as California strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and end fossil fuel production in the state. But the ‘just transition’ bill is pitting unions against unions.

California’s environmental justice law is supposed to clean the air for 15 hot spot communities, home to almost 4 million people. But after more than four years and one billion dollars, it’s still impossible to say whether it’s worked.