California Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) asked Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter to drop sponsorships from oil and gas companies.
“The state of California is currently suing five of the largest oil and gas companies in the world for decades of misleading the public about climate change,” wrote Gonzalez. “This lawsuit includes Philips 66, owner of the 76 brand of gas stations. As a State, we are leading the way in climate action and decarbonizing our economy. Yet, Big Oil continues to engage in climate denial and just last year spent a record amount lobbying the State Legislature against common-sense public health measures.”
EHRMEHGERD BIG OIL. *eye roll*
Gonzalez wrote the letter after climate activist Zan Dubin, who started the charge against the Dodgers, praised her “for showing ‘true leadership and unflinching courage as the first elected official to endorse our campaign.'”
Tug at those heart strings, Gonzalez:
The recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles are focusing attention on a reality that my constituents have known for decades: that fossil fuel pollution is responsible for not only the climate crisis, but also the persistently harmful air quality in the region. Residents of the Los Angeles area breathe some of the most polluted air in the country, with demonstrated links to negative health outcomes. Continuing to associate these corporations with our beloved boys in blue is not in our community or the planet best interest.
Therefore, the Dodgers should end its sponsorship with Phillips 66 because it would “send the message that it’s time to end our embrace of polluting fossil fuels and work together towards a cleaner, greener future.”
Gonzalez told The Los Angeles Times she hopes Dodgers players like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman will oppose fossil fuel advertisements.
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