Press Release
October 25, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Jenna Thompson, 949-246-1620, [email protected]

LOS ANGELES – California Environmental Voters (EnviroVoters) today unveiled a new website and ad campaign that exposes how four politicians – Los Angeles City Councilmember Joe Buscaino, San Bernardino County Supervisor Janice Rutherford, Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett, and City of Highland Mayor Larry McCallan – have used their positions on Southern California’s Air Quality Management District (AQMD) board to protect corporate polluters.

“Politicians who sit on Southern California’s Air Quality Management District have enormous power to fight pollution and improve the health of communities choking on some of the nation’s most polluted air – but time and again they’ve chosen to protect corporate polluters instead. That’s why we’ve named Joe Buscaino, Janice Rutherford, Lisa Bartlett, and Larry McCallan the ‘Fossil Fuel Four,’” said Mike Young, Political Director for EnviroVoters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters). “The upcoming vote on regulating refinery pollution is a chance for these politicians to show they are ready to stand with communities to give our children a chance to breathe clean air – it’s an opportunity they must not miss.”

The website, fossilfuelfour.com, details how each of these politicians has voted with the corporate polluters instead of protecting the health, safety, and future of residents of Southern California who make up nearly half the state of California’s population.

The new ad campaign comes as the Southern California AQMD is set to decide whether it will move forward on regulating pollution from oil refineries, the one action within the board’s authority with the greatest potential to reduce pollution. On October 26, the board will hear from community members affected by pollution from refineries and could decide as soon as November 5 whether to pursue refinery regulations.

Saying “California is losing its fight against smog,” the Los Angeles Times editorial board called on the AQMD board to require refineries to install the best available pollution control equipment. Noting the oil industry has effectively blocked action on the rule for years, the Times editorial said the AQMD board must “realize there is no more time to waste” on “curtailing refinery pollution.”

California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.

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The month of March is Public Lands Month, and we’ve got some big goals. We’re pushing for 5 national monument designations while fighting for clean water, Indigenous land protection, ecosystem conservation, and increasing access to nature. 

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