Green California’s Big Oil Problem December 12, 2025

Inside Climate News

Emma Silber was disappointed to see California pass S.B. 237. “Increasing drilling is not the answer here, and increasing drilling in already overburdened communities is very much not the solution,” said Silber, who signed the August letter as the climate justice program coordinator for Physicians for Social Responsibility LA.

“Once again frontline BIPOC communities, whether in neighborhoods or folks working in agriculture, are being sacrificed for the profits of the industry and political expediency,” she said.

Recent research found that air pollution from fossil fuels causes tens of thousands of premature deaths per year across the country, Silber said. “And if you’re looking specifically in California, there are over 10,000 early deaths due to the fine particles from oil and gas emissions.”