Good morning. It's Monday, Sept. 18. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
- The state takes on the oil industry with an ambitious lawsuit
- Los Angeles could establish an independent redistricting commission
- The man behind the world's best restaurant
- And here's today's e-newspaper
California is suing Big Oil, accusing them of climate change 'deception'
California is no stranger to fighting climate change with legal battles. But late last week, state officials announced a truly heavyweight match.
Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against five major oil companies and their trade association, alleging their involvement in "a decades-long campaign of deception and creating statewide climate change-related harms in California."
Bonta said Exxon Mobil, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP — along with the American Petroleum Institute (API) — have long known "that the burning of fossil fuels leads to climate change — but have fed us lies and mistruths to further their record-breaking profits at the expense of our environment."
"Enough is enough," Bonta said in a statement. "With our lawsuit, California becomes the largest geographic area and the largest economy to take these giant oil companies to court."
The 135-page complaint presents several pieces of evidence the state says points to oil companies' longtime understanding of the effect their products have on the environment.
The suit notes API received a report on environmental pollutants from the Stanford Research Institute in 1968, which stated: "Significant temperature changes are almost certain to occur by the year 2000, and ... there seems to be no doubt that the potential damage to our environment could be severe."
In response to that and other scientific evidence linking fossil fuels to global warming, Big Oil orchestrated disinformation campaigns, the state alleges, "to plant doubt about the reality of climate change in an effort to maintain consumer demand for their fossil fuel products and their large profits."
What is California hoping to accomplish with the lawsuit? As Times staff writer Louis Sahagún reported:
"Bonta is seeking to create a nuisance abatement fund to finance climate mitigation and adaptation efforts; injunctive relief to protect California's natural resources from pollution, impairment and destruction; and to prevent the companies from making any further false or misleading statements about the contribution of fossil fuel combustion to climate change."
Gov. Gavin Newsom called out Big Oil in a statement for "decades of damage and deception."
"Wildfires wiping out entire communities, toxic smoke clogging our air, deadly heat waves, record-breaking droughts parching our wells," he said. "California taxpayers shouldn't have to foot the bill."
In a statement, API Senior Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers called the state's complaint "a distraction … and an enormous waste of California taxpayer resources."
"Climate policy is for Congress to debate and decide," he said, "not the court system."
Sahagun notes that a "growing number of high-profile cases in state court helped pave the way" for this major legal action from Bonta, including the $246-billion settlement with the tobacco industry in 1998 and a $350-million settlement with manufacturers of lead paint in 2019.
As for how much money state officials are seeking from Big Oil, that's to be determined for now.
Bonta told The Times: "It is going to be a very, very large number."
Today's top stories
A smoggy view of downtown Los Angeles from Montecito Heights in April 2023. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
Our environment
Legislative roundup
More big stories
Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.
Today's great reads
Chef Virgilio Martinez in his restaurant Central in Lima, Peru. (Jason Johnson / For The Times)
His restaurant was named No. 1 in the world. Why that's not enough for Virgilio Martinez. He achieved the pinnacle of his profession when his Lima spot Central topped the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in a country often ignored by Michelin. But it's not enough.
Other great reads
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
John Waters in his "Pope of Trash" at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
And finally ... a great photo
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they're important to you.
Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. (Catherine Paez)
Today's great photo is from Catherine Paez of Signal Hill: L.A.'s Walt Disney Concert Hall. Catherine writes: "Walt Disney Concert Hall is my favorite building in Los Angeles. Gracefully fluid architecture like the music it contains. It always looks different depending on the sky's lighting conditions. I'm very proud of it."
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Laura Blasey, assistant editor
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Comments
Post a Comment